A Fallen Hero
by airow17
Summary: What's a boy to do when he's lost everything and everyone? Gohan decided that the best thing to do is to never get close to anyone again. Seven years after the Cell Games, our favorite half breed has become a hollow shell of who he used to be and now not even his closest friend Piccolo can approach him. Can a certain raven haired girl save him from himself.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

 **Announcement** : Some of you may be aware and others are not, but I did a poll last week to decide what would replace my story The Picture on my update list. Unfortunately, I didn't really get an idea on what most people wanted and so, I made a better way for people to decide. Alongside my usual updates, I will be posting the first chapter of the five stories that actually received votes and then after the final story has been written I will put the poll back up so that you can vote on which one you want to continue. This is the first story of 5

Chapter 1

He stood on the outskirts of the place he had once known as West City, but apparently since his last visit they had renamed it. So, now he found he was at the edge of **Satan City, The Home of the Man Who Saved the World**. This mysterious young man laughed as he read the billboard. He couldn't understand how people really bought what that goofball was selling. He's be surprised if that idiot even knew how to throw a punch. Oh well, after all this time there would be no point in exposing him now, besides in a way he was the one who saved it.

"Well, I better get going before I'm late," he said straightening the bag on his back and off he went into the city.

In order to get where he needed to be, he went into a light jog, or at least that's what he felt it was. To everyone else, his speed was unreal as he passed most cars that were going at least 45 mph. Seeing the reactions of these people made him smirk.

" _As usual, these weaklings can only stand amazed at those with real power_ ," he thought.

However, as he ran he came across some trouble. The roar of gunfire was easy to hear and from what he could see, it was a simple robbery. He came to halt in front of the bank to get a better look at the situation. There were seven men in total, one sat in the driver's seat, but he didn't doubt that he the driver had at least a small firearm. The other six stood in the back of the small blue truck firing off their machine guns in random directions and angles.

One of the robbers, most like the leader started laughing, "What's wrong you pigs? Too scared to move? Maybe you should all just drop dead!"

The man turned his guns on the few officers that were there, but they managed to hide behind their vehicles. The young man actually wanted to laugh at them, the police who try to seem tough, but here they were cowering under a little pressure. Then again it's not as if they were like him. He was brought out of his thoughts as the police and the crowd began to cheer. They all had their attention set on a yellow jet copter that had just landed and from inside a girl that was probably around his age appeared. She wore a baggy t-shirt with badge clipped near the bottom. At same time though she also had tight fitting biker shorts and gloves. He had to admit that her black hair, which was tied in pigtails, as well as those blue eyes made her seem attractive. However, what caught his attention was the way she moved. There was confidence in each step she took and based on what he could see of her muscle structure, this girl was one hell of a fighter.

"Videl, you finally made it!" a very large officer cheered.

"What's the situation chief?" she practically demanded from the plump man.

"Just some random crooks who wanted a big score," he answered trying not to look into the girl's fierce glare, "We did everything we could, but those guns make them hard to deal with."

Videl understood. Yeah right, she understood that their so called best was to hide until she could arrive and handle everything. Ignoring whatever else the overweight officer was saying, she looked around. The so called crooks all had smirks on their faces as they looked down on her. She hated when people did that, especially men. They all seemed to think that because she was a girl that when she beat them they could get away with saying "I was just taking it easy on her." Well then, these guys had better be ready to face her wrath. She made her way through the path that the crowd had opened up for her like always. However, something different happened.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing?" said a voice.

To say Videl was stunned would be an understatement, she was embarrassed as she felt that someone had grabbed the back of her shirt and was keeping her from advancing. She turned around expecting to see some newbie officer that didn't know who she was, but that was not the case. She had found herself being stared down by a six foot tall man that she believed may be her age. She practically eyed every detail of him. The black hair that defied gravity other than the single lock that that fell over his eye. Yeah, those black haunting eyes that could make even hell freeze over. The serious expression on his face was complimented by his dark clothing. The young man kept his navy blue dress shirt unbuttoned exposing a black t-shirt that barely hid his muscled chest. His sleeves were only rolled up to his elbows as he wore black wristbands that practically acted like a second skin. Hell, even his watch was dark in color, as were those baggy pants he wore(Essentially there the same kind of pants that Mirai Trunks wore including the shoes, except Gohan's are blue).

"Young man, let that girl go," an officer yelled, snapping her out of her trance, "Can't you see that she's trying to stop those men."

Videl's blood chilled when he spoke, "I could be wrong, but isn't that supposed to be your job. This girl is a civilian therefore _you_ are supposed to be protecting her not the other way around."

Her face became red at his words, "Hey buddy, I don't need anyone to protect me, you got that! I am the daughter of Hercule Satan, thank you very much."

The mysterious young man looked at her quizzically and while she expected him to start groveling, he once again did something that she didn't expect. He had laughed as if it were the funniest joke in the world.

"You can't be serious," he said finally calming down, "You mean to say that you admit to being related to that idiot and you're proud of it?"

She was now trembling with anger, but before she could say anything he was already walking past her towards the crooks.

"As thanks for the laugh," he said turning back to her with a smirk on his face, "I'll deal with this myself."

He again started walking towards them which only made her groan thinking that now she had an even bigger mess to clean up afterward. Unknown to her was just who it was that she had been speaking to. The young man now stood before the criminals, his face expressionless as the leader aim the barrel directly at him.

"You really should have just let the girl fight us," he taunted with a malicious grin on his face as his buddies laughed.

"I have to admit guys like you really piss me off," he said his eyes suddenly becoming cold.

In an instant they all found themselves being tossed off the truck as it suddenly leaned forward. The driver stared wide-eyed as did everyone else, the young man had suddenly appeared and smashed the hood in as his fist pierced through the engine. Before anyone could do anything else he had pulled the driver out through the windshield. The holding him up like a scarecrow he drove his knee into the man's back and based on the crack there was probably going to be some spinal damage.

"That's one down," he muttered, "Now for the others."

His assault was quick as he phased in and out of everyone's sight. He easily disarmed each of them, but it was what he did after doing such that left the crowd speechless, especially the raven haired fighter. She watched him not only defeat them, but she understood exactly what each blow meant. He was shattering their bones causing muscles and tendons to tear. There was no way that any of them would completely recover from their injuries. Now, he stood with the criminal leader under his foot and gun in hand.

"I have to admit I am amazed at how much a difference a single weapon can make," he said with an icy edge in his voice, "It makes men who would usually have no courage become so brave that they think they have the right to threaten other people's lives.

"I'm sorry," the man whined as he felt his sternum being crushed, "Please, I'll never do this again, just leave me alone."

"And why should I do that?" he asked, "Actually, you may be able to answer something for me. Seven years ago, when Cell was running rampant guys like you were hiding underneath their beds screaming for their mommies. Yet, now you think it's your chance to cause some mayhem. Why?"

The man squirmed unable to think of a coherent answer for the young man that had decimated him and his friends. His eyes practically popped out of his head when he found the barrel of his own gun staring him in the face.

"So, perhaps it would be better if I reinstilled that fear," he said.

Anyone could easily see that this young man was not kidding. There was no hesitation in his eyes, he would truly kill if he had to. The robber looked at the trigger where he could see that soon it would be pulled and eventually he heard the roar of gunfire before he blacked out.

"What a wimp," he groaned, but then smirked as he viewed his handiwork.

He wanted to laugh as the leading criminal laid there unconscious believing that he had been about to die. Without a word he grabbed his bag and was about to leave before he was stopped by Videl.

"Where do you think you're going?" she said glaring at him.

"I don't know about you, but I've got school, so see ya around," he said trying to leave, but she circled around him and cut him off.

"No, where you're going is with the police after what you did," she told him, "You have no training for situations like this and someone could have gotten hurt. Not only that, but what you did was entirely excessive."

The way she acted tough almost brought a smile to his face...almost.

He took hold of her shirt and drew her close to him, "Let me make this clear, you have no right to judge me. Besides, I could be wrong, but you're no different from me. After all, you were just about to go in and do the same thing or is it different because of who your father is."

Videl was stunned, but not just because of what he said, it was the way he acted. She hated having to use her father's name, but it seemed as if it were the only way for people to take her seriously. Yet, now this guy acted as if she were normal, threatening her as if he wouldn't have to deal with the strongest man in the world. Another thing she wondered was who he was? The look in his eyes made it seem as if he could kill everyone there and he wouldn't give a damn. In all honesty she was scared, but there was no way in hell that she was going to let him know that.

"Listen up you fucking idiot," she yelled practically damaging his eardrums, "It's my job to help keep this city as peaceful as possible and I can't do that if we let some vigilante get away."

He smirked and said, "Too bad," before he let go of her and suddenly vanished.

At first stunned, but she then slammed her foot into one of the police cruisers leaving a noticeable dent in the door. Her breathing was now heavy with her rage she ran to her jet copter and took flight to her school. After landing on the rooftop she ran to her class.

"Sorry I'm late," she said bowing to her teacher.

"No worries, I understand that sometimes your civic duties often clash with school hours," the teacher explained, "Just make sure your grades don't suffer. Now take your seat."

Doing as he said she climbed the stairs to find her seat in between two blondes that happened to be her best friends. Erasa may be a chatterbox, but she at least listened to her problems. Sharpner, well he was just Sharpner.

"Hey Videl, what's with you?" Erasa asked, "I've never seen you like this after stopping a crime."

"That's because I didn't get to stop them," she said before explaining what had happened.

"Holy shit, I can't believe someone could actually do something like that," Erasa practically squealed.

"Will you two quiet down," the teacher shouted, "Alright my young..um...scholars, It would appear that we have a new student joining us today. That's your cue son. Our young friend here managed to get a perfect score on every one of his exams."

The word nerd and wimp could be heard echoing throughout the room. Then in came the student.

"Hello everyone," he said snapping Videl from her usual daze.

"YOU!" she yelled as she jumped to a standing position.

The new student looked at her and smirked. Yep, it was definitely him, the very person that was causing her current bad mood.

"Hello again," he waved, "Well anyways, the name is Son Gohan."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** : I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

 **Announcement** : I know I said that I would only write the first chapter of the stories, but then it occurred to me that the others have a kind of slow start. So, I'll let you decide what I'll do. I can either just continue on with this story, or I can write the stories up to chapter three and then put the poll back up. You can either let me know your opinion in the reviews or just send me a PM. Also, I apologize for not updating anything lately, I only just got my internet turned back on after a storm knocked the line down.

Chapter 2

To say that Gohan was enjoying himself would be pushing it. In fact, he was totally bored out of his mind with all these damn lessons. Hell, he learned all of this stuff before he turned eight. If he had known he was going to spend the next year and a half getting nothing more than a review from these half assed instructors. Luckily for him, his actions earlier had given him a source of entertainment. Only two seats down from him sat a certain raven haired girl name Videl. Based on the way she had been glaring him since first period, he figured that she didn't take his little disappearing act too well and she obviously told her friend. The blonde girl he sat next two, who had introduced herself as Erasa, was shifting nervously and constantly shifting her gaze in fear.

"If I make you uncomfortable, why not just switch seat with Videl?" he asked in a soft whisper without actually turning to face her.

He could tell that she had flinched when he spoke to her, but he guessed that since she had turned to her friend Erasa had seriously considered his advice. Erasa then asked to be excused to the restroom which the teacher allowed. She left and the moment the teacher turned his back, Videl moved into her friends seat next to Gohan.

"Why did you do it?" she whispered as she took her notes

"That depends on what we're talking about," he whispered without turning to face, "If we're talking about that incident with the crooks, then that's my business."

The girl glared at him hoping to make him shake in his boots, but all it did was earn her a smile and a small snicker from him. The way he acted made her want to strangle him, but she did her best to control herself.

"I meant why did you tell Erasa to switch seats with me?" she asked honestly curious to hear his answer.

She hoped he would say something that would give her an excuse to beat him up right there. For once, she actually wanted some guy to hit on her just so he would give her that excuse.

"Because unlike you she has a harder time controlling her fear," he said, "Being near me made her anxious and would probably freak out if I ever spoke to her. You on the other hand can at least appear calm and therefore are easier to be around."

For once she was totally speechless. Sure his tone and some of the things he said made him sound like he only did it for his own benefit, but he also took how her friend was feeling into account. She then shook off the feeling and began thinking of ways she could take advantage of her situation. By being near him like this, she may discover whatever secrets she knew he must be hiding. If she could find them then just maybe she would have enough proof to arrest him properly. After Erasa came back and took her new spot the rest of the period passed by without any further conversations leaving Gohan bored once again.

Thankfully the bell rang and he was off to a class that he may actually find interesting, Gym. One of the reason he chose this school is because he heard that it received quite a bit of funding to both its educational and PE facilities provided they did two things. For the educational part they had to use Capsule Corp devices. As for PE they only received their funding as long as their main curriculum was in martial arts, but what could you expect since their benefactor was Hercule Satan.

"Time to go see what the big fuss is about," he said to himself.

With his saiyan hearing he managed to hear Videl and her friends talking about the gym and so he followed them. However, once they arrived he split off to head directly into the gymnasium and sat on the bleachers. He looked around and admired the gym structure. Rather than it being a set up for basketball it was a giant room with about eight stone arenas(Think WMAT). The lights above were almost like those from a football stadium.

"Don't they think this is a little much for a high school?" he asked himself.

"My dad does tend to go to the extra mile especially when it deals with me," said a voice.

Gohan turned to see Videl had come out of the changing room, but in reality all she did was put a light purple long sleeved t-shirt underneath her white one.

"You seriously went into a changing room to add another shirt?" he quirked an eyebrow as he asked.

"Yeah well, I don't usually break a sweat, but just in case I would prefer not having pit stains on the only other shirt I have," she explained though with a slight blush, but then she looked at what he was wearing, "What about you, aren't you going to change?"

Gohan chuckled slightly, "There'd be no point. I mere one hour workout can't even be considered a decent warm-up for me."

"I wouldn't say that. Our coach is from one of my dad's gyms and he'll be having us do most of my dad's hardest routines. Not that they're hard to me."

"If it's just one of Hercule's routines then I'm sure that I won't be breaking any kind of sweat," he sighed with obvious disappointment in his voice.

Before she could say anything else, she was interrupted by the appearance of the rest of her classmates. Not wanting to be caught in some kind of rumor about her and Gohan, she took a seat at the back of the bleachers. However, it was while she was back there that she learned that a few things about Gohan had already been spreading.

"I heard that he killed someone from his last school," a girl whispered.

This caused Videl's ears to perk up. If that were true then this guy would most definitely have a record and that meant she could dig up some dirt.

"Yeah, well I heard that he robbed a bank that had connections to Capsule Corp," said one guy.

Okay, now that one sounded like it could be him. After all, the guy obviously had no problems injuring someone. That made him perfect for leading some bank heist. Looks like she could certainly find out plenty of useful info about Mr. Son Gohan. She was brought out of her thoughts when her friends sat beside her.

"Don't worry Videl," Erasa said confidently, "We won't let that Gohan guy hurt you."

"What do you mean?" she quirked an eyebrow.

"She means that the guy is obviously bad news," Sharpner interjected, "That's why we told everyone about what he did this morning. A lot of the guys are aiming for him when I said he tried to manhandle you. Oh man, it won't take the champ long to hear about this."

"Not only that, but a lot of people think they've heard about him causing trouble before," Erasa added.

Videl thanked her friends and then turned her attention to their coach who was dressed in typical workout gear, a black muscle shirt and grey sweatpants with sneakers. He was telling everyone about how they would be covering martial arts for this last semester of their junior year and how it would prepare them for their lessons next year.

"Alright, now first we need everyone separate into groups based on skill level," he said turning to indicate the rings, "Each ring will have a sign posted to it with different years on it. If you have practiced for that amount of time then stand in that ring. Those of you who have no experience nor interest in learning can simply write an essay about the greatness of Mr. Satan and you will pass for the semester."

Gohan resisted the urge to laugh and simply watched as everyone got into their groups. A few of the weaker guys stuck to the bleachers as did many girls, Erasa included. Videl however, had moved to a ring and was already doing some shadow boxing. This fact caught his interest and he made his way over to her.

"Not bad," he complimented her ability.

He wasn't lying, her skill could not be doubted. Every move she made had been refined to absolute perfection, but he felt bad for her. She was obviously using a style that wasn't meant for her.

"What do you want?" she asked the venom in her voice could not be hidden.

"Well, I saw you shadow boxing and just wanted to know why you weren't waiting for someone to join your group," he stated.

Videl pointed to the sign and then returned to her exercise. Gohan turned to see that this ring had been assigned to those with more than eight years of experience.

"Okay, I still don't see your point," he admitted.

"Most of the guys here only started practicing after my dad beat Cell," she said a small tinge of frustration growing in her voice, "I'm pretty much the only one at this school who started before."

"And just how long have you been at this?" he asked genuinely curious.

The raven haired fighter stopped shadow boxing and smirked at her new classmate, "I've been at this since I was eight. So, in a few months it'll have been nine years."

"You seem proud of yourself," he said appraisingly.

The girl glared at him. The guy had proven he was dangerous just a few hours ago and here she was having a conversation with him. Not only that, but she actually felt comfortable around him. It was as if she could tell him anything and he would listen without judging her.

"I am, now if you don't mind," she said trying to sound annoyed, "Please stop interfering with my training and go join your group."

Considering what she had of his personality, she expected him to simply shrug and turn away. However, for the third time today, he didn't do what she expected. Gohan smiled up at her and then jumped up into the ring.

"Well, too bad for you, but I am with my group or in this case partner," he said walking up to her.

As much as she wanted to argue that he didn't belong here in her ring, she couldn't. She had personally seen what he did to those crooks and no matter how powerful someone was, it was useless without the skill.

"Then let's make a deal," she said crossing her arms with a look of triumph on her face, "You and I have a spar. When I win you go join one of the other groups."

Now this caught Gohan's attention more than anything else she had done. The girl was confident that she could win despite not knowing her opponent's true capability. Then again if her crime fighting was a usual thing, then maybe it simply came with the territory. Now, you can blame his saiyan side, but he was more than eager to accept her challenge. Especially because it gave him some more ammo to tease her with.

"Fine I'll bite, but quick question," he said trying to sound as weak as possible, "Would the mighty Satan like to tell her meager opponent what he get in the off chance that he wins?"

A small tick mark formed on her forehead, "If you win, I'll do anything you want. As long as it's nothing perverted."

"Well Videl, if I didn't know any better, I would think that you wanted me to take out on a date," he said raising his eyebrows and smirk on his face.

"NO!" she yelled waving her hands as if to make her point, "But that seems to be all that's on most boys' minds, but apparently...not...on...yours."

She had practically mumbled that last part, but his saiyan hearing picked it up. He had to admit that her reactions were cute and so was she. He wasn't blind to good looks and he could tell that there were plenty of cute girls at this school. The problem was that they were all too boring for his taste, but Videl was keeping him very entertained at this point.

"Well how about this," he offered, "I'll think about what I want you to do and then let you know, but for now, let's fight."

The two took their own stances. Gohan's was a slightly altered version of the stance he used of the games. Videl on the other hand was using the one that her father had used on that same day and it was just painful to look at.

"Okay, there is no way I'm fighting you like this," he declared.

Getting out of stance he made his way over to Videl's side. The girl was left stuttering as he moved his hands along her form. She was so caught off guard that she hadn't noticed that he was changing her stance until he had finished.

"There that should feel better," he said.

Videl was still too stunned to say anything until Sharpner spoke up, "Hey babe, you alright?"

Looking around she could see that all the others had stopped their own training to come and watch her sparring session with Gohan. If she wasn't embarrassed before, she sure as hell was now, but luckily she could beat up the source without getting in trouble. Videl settled back into fight mode, but she found that the new stance was more comfortable than the one her father taught her.

"I hope you don't regret this," she said making a smirk that even Vegeta would be proud of, "Because I sure as hell am not."

Once again her antics earned her a soft chuckle from her opponent, "We'll see if you still think that after the match is over."

Apparently the coach had decided to make himself the referee of the match and was about to call for it to begin when he noticed that Gohan was not taking a stance this time. He just stood there his body turned slightly to the side. He seemed relaxed, but the coach could see that he was taking his opponent very seriously. Everyone else on the other hand believed that he was insulting Videl's fighting skills, even Videl herself.

"So, you think that you're too good to fight me?" she asked, scowling, "I'll just have to show you how strong I really am."

Sensing the tension, the coach called for the match to begin. Videl lunged in with far greater speed than she was used to and nearly body slammed into Gohan, but she never felt the impact. When she stopped herself, she looked around, but he had vanished. Or so she thought until a small cough called her attention behind her.

"I'm sorry, were you looking for me?" he asked with a cocky grin, "You really need to be careful with the lift off. If not, you'll only be jumping into an attack."

Videl growled and once again lunged forward, but she still took his advice and adjusted her power. She still moved faster, but she had more control than before. Stopping just in front of Gohan she turned into a spin kick, but he tilted his head just narrowly avoiding the kick. After recovering she began a barrage of punches, but once again her attacks were easily dodged.

"Why aren't you fighting back?!" she demanded.

"Just getting a feel for the situation," he said calmly still dodging her punches.

Tired of playing games Videl grabbed Gohan by the back of his neck and lifted herself up to drive her knee into his face. The entire class grinned believing the match to be over, but they were disappointed. Gohan had stopped her knee with his hand just before it landed. He shifted his eyes to look up at her. She could see it, that glint in his eyes was the same as hers whenever she fought and was sure that she would win. Yet, there was an impish look to them.

Videl let go and then jumped back to gain some distance, "You're not bad. I didn't expect to have such a good fight."

"Yeah, well thirteen years of martial arts certainly has its privileges," he shrugged.

Her eyes widened at his words. If what he said was true, then that meant he started four years before she did.

"No, there is no way that you've been training longer than I have," she as if to convince herself.

Gohan sighed and decided that it was about time he ended this. Before anyone knew what had happened Videl was in the air and with a quick heel kick to her jaw she was sent flying into a spiral out of the ring.

"Oh no, shes going to land head first!" Erasa squealed in fear as she watched her friend.

No one saw him move, but they all saw the result. Videl didn't hit the ground, no she had been caught in someone's arms and that someone was Gohan. He laid her gently on the ground and brushed some of her hair off her face.

He stood back up and turned to the coach, "I touched the ground first, which means I lost. So, when she wakes up tell her I said congratulations and that I had fun."

Without another word he left the gym and his classmates to tend to Videl. He sure as hell did not want to be there when she found out that he gave up. He knew that there was no way her fighter's pride would accept it, in fact he was counting on it.

"This going to be a very entertaining year," he chuckled as he walked through the halls.

Author's Note

Okay, now I think I've done pretty well with how I want the characters to develop. My main idea is to make Gohan seem unreadable to Videl and the others. Now, I haven't found this, but instead of making him an outright ass, I've decided to make him into a guy that just looks for fun. Videl is still trying to figure him out and that will lead to their relationship developing. Also, there will be a Majin Buu segment, but it will be very different from the canon version.

Review Responses

The Burdened Muse: I didn't even notice the error and read it as without, but I'm glad that you like the way it was done. I appreciate your review.

xrail: I did know that it was Orange Star City, but I always found that weird. I mean West City practically became an icon in the show because that's usually where things happened. Besides, can you imagine how Vegeta must feel about living in Satan City.

I thank everyone else for your kind reviews and hope to see many more in the future.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** : I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

Chapter 3

Since gym was his final class and he didn't have any intention of returning, he decided to go take a look around the city. He had to admit they made plenty of changes specifically around the shops. The old West City mall was now the Satan City Mall and while it used to be a big place for fashion and technology, it now included a huge number of shops for Satan brand martial arts gear.

"Wow, I can't believe there's actually someone with a bigger ego than Vegeta," he mumbled to himself.

Hell, the Satan name was almost anything he saw whether it was in the mall or out in the city. There's even fifteen Satan Style dojos in the city alone. Sure the guy lives here, but was there any reason he had to take over the entire city. The only places seemed to not be under his control were the shops that were owned by Capsule Corp.

"Guess Bulma's got a little pride of her own," he said smiling.

As much fun as he was having it was beginning to grow dark and Gohan didn't want to risk running into old friends. He found an area outside that lacked many people and the one's that were there, were stoned out of their minds. He phased out everyone's view and flew off to his home. Within seconds he came upon a wasteland area not unlike the place that Piccolo had left him in as a child. On top of one of the plateaus was a small capsule house just enough for one person. After he landed, he made his way to the door, but stopped after only a few steps.

"I knew it was too good to be true," he sighed, but then smiled, "Still, I can't believe it took you this long to find me this time. You must be getting sloppy in your old age, Piccolo."

And sure enough, when Gohan turned around there stood his old mentor and friend. The Namekian stood in his usual outfit including the turban and cape with his arms crossed and a surprisingly gentle look in his eyes.

"How long has it been, eight months?" Gohan inquired feigning curiosity.

"Nine," Piccolo replied.

"Wow, it used to take you only a few weeks to find me, but now it looks like you really have to work for it," Gohan said proudly, but then his face became stern, "What do you want?"

HIs mentor simply looked him over as if inspecting him. The Namekian couldn't believe that this was the same Gohan that he had trained so many years ago. Then again, he knew that the last seven years hadn't been easy for him, especially with what happened three years ago.

"Let me guess, you came to try and 'help me,' right," he stated more than asked, "I told you before, your help is not needed nor is it wanted here."

"Gohan, you can't keep acting like this," Piccolo said softly, "You are this world's hero now."

Gohan's eyes became cold, "No, I'm not. This planet only had one hero and his name was Goku. I have no intention of trying to fill the shoes he left behind."

"Don't you realize that the only reason Goku could die in peace is because he expected you to take his place!" Piccolo yelled.

"Well too bad, I'm done following someone else's expectations," he said turning away from his old friend, "Now, I've got school tomorrow, so I'll talk to you later."

"School, huh?" Piccolo questioned, "Sound like Chichi's expectations are still there."

This caused Gohan to turn back and laugh slightly, "No, I'm just bored and I figured going to a school would help me kill some time. Just like I said I have no intention of following their expectations. Now, I simply do what entertains me and that's all."

"Do you think that Goten would be proud of what you've become?!" he yelled at his old apprentice.

However, the moment he said it, he regretted his words. Not only because he knew how Gohan felt, but because he knew that he was probably about to die. Gohan's eyes now displayed an ever quiet rage and in an instant he fired a small ki blast. Piccolo barely saw it coming and when he tried to dodge he lost his arm. Without missing a beat Gohan planted his fist into his old mentor's gut making his cough up purple blood. Piccolo backed up trying to regain his breath, but apparently Gohan had other plans. He quickly closed the difference and rammed his knee into Piccolo's face. Finally he grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground causing a crater to form around them.

"Since you're an old friend, I'll let you off with a warning," Gohan spoke without emotion, but his words still carried an icy tone, "But if you ever try to use my brother's name against me again, I'll kill you. Now leave."

Letting Piccolo up, Gohan went over and pressed a button and his house capsulized. In an instant he was out of Piccolo's sight. Piccolo, knew that this would probably be the last time he'd find Gohan unless he wanted to be found. Sure, normally you could sense someone when they use ki and start flying, but he was another story. Gohan was capable of changing his power level in an instant and he moved to fast to be detected. Not even when he and Dende worked together could they find him and when they did it was at months at a time.

"Goku, I'm sorry, but I don't believe I can help him this time," Piccolo said looking up at the sky, "But I pray that one day there will be someone who can."

With his speed it was would be easy to assume that Gohan would fly far away, but in reality he was in a cave just fifty miles from his previous location. He decapsulized the house and tried to relax, but it just wasn't happening. Everytime he closed his eyes he'd see it. The shadowed figure that he knew all too well laying on the floor unmoving. The blood on his shaking hands. He could even hear the cries of a baby.

"I'm so sorry mom, Goten," he whimpered before finally slipping into a tortured sleep, but by now he was used to it.

(With Videl)

She couldn't believe it. She, Videl Satan, had lost to some guy and from the way she remembered it was pretty easily. The guy moved so fast that she wasn't even aware she had been hit until after she woke up. The bandage on her cheek was proof of her defeat, but if it were just losing she could learn to deal with it. No, what was infuriating her was the fact that the guy had the nerve to give her the win. Who cared that she won the bet if she still lost the match.

"Damn him!" she screamed.

"Geez girl, take it easy," said Erasa.

After school ended, Erasa elected to stay with Videl tonight just to be sure that she was really okay. For the past couple hours they had talked about whatever they could, but neither one could go for very long before their thoughts went back to a certain new kid.

"So, Videl what do you think of Gohan?" Erasa finally asked.

"I don't know," she admitted.

"I totally agr...," she started, but then realized what her friend said, "What do you mean you don't know. You usually have an opinion of someone the moment you meet them, especially guys."

"Yeah, well this one confuses me," she said sitting up on her bed, "I mean after what I saw him do this morning I figured he was just some savage brute. Then he goes and suggests for us to switch seats and it seemed like he was seriously being considerate of how you were nervous around him."

"Wait, you mean that's why he did it, I just figured it was so he could hit on you," said Erasa, "When he didn't say anything to you when I got back I thought you shut him down."

Videl curled up into a ball and said, "No, he tried to make himself sound selfish, but he really did seem to care how you were so nervous. Not to mention the fact he's mister perfect score, so you'd think he was some nerd, but no, he's actually a fighter. I don't understand him and I don't like it."

The two sat in silence not knowing what else to say. Gohan was an enigma for both of them and despite his attitude and actions it was proven that he was no criminal. Videl had called the police chief to get whatever information he could on the new kid, but other than his public ID there wasn't really much. After some research it turned out that the crimes she heard about him committing were done by others and all were currently in jail. She couldn't believe that she had been so stupid to trust a bunch of rumors.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Erasa asked interrupting her thoughts.

"What I already planned to do," Videl said with a determined look in her eyes, "I'll find out the truth about Gohan on my own."

"Well, if anyone can do it, then it's you," Erasa encouraged her.

Videl nodded a thank you, but for some reason there was some doubt. She wasn't kidding when she said that Gohan confused her, but it wasn't just the way his personality seemed to change every couple seconds. It was also the way he treated her. He acted like she was just some normal girl and it was if he just didn't fear her father. No, it wasn't that he didn't fear him, he didn't respect. For whatever reason he had, Gohan did not hold any real respect for her father and some reason she was happy about that. What was this Gohan guy doing to her?

Author's Note

I know that this chapter is shorter than the others, but there are some aspects that I don't feel like revealing too soon. In order to make sure I didn't spoil it I had to keep some things from happening. For one, I'm sure you were all expecting Bulma, Vegeta, and Trunks to be at the mall, but I apologize that was not going to happen. The mall scene was simply a filler scene to give Gohan something to do until it was almost nightfall. I'll try to limit those, but they will probably appear every so often. I also apologize if the chapter quality dropped, but the point was simply to give you a hint as to what has happened in the last few years without actually telling you

Review Responses

For the most part everyone seems to be commenting on my take of Gohan after the Cell games and I am glad that it's not a personality that's done too often.

WineIXI: I am glad you are enjoying this story and it was your comment that encouraged me to write this today.

Darkswordsman Kirito: First, love the username. Second, I appreciate that and I hope I can continue writing chapters that you and everyone will like. Also, yeah, grammar has never really been my strong point.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** : I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

Okay, by popular demand and the fact that I realized the other stories wil probably have too slow a start to really get any support, so A Fallen Hero is now one of my official stories. Have fun reading this story's first official chapter.

Chapter 4

It's been a good eight weeks since Gohan had first appeared at OSH. He was known for two things, one being that he scared most of the student body. It wasn't through his violent actions that he did this, it was the rumors that had spread about him since they heard about his actions against a group of crooks. Then if you add in his constant change in personality, at one moment he seemed as if he couldn't hurt a fly and in another he was about ready to rip someone's head off. The second, being that he was the only one willing to stand up to the two strongest people in the school: Marker and Videl. It spread that as soon as Marker returned from his suspension he confronted Gohan only to get knocked out from a simple tap to his temple. In Videl's case, just as Gohan predicted she didn't let him get away and told him that he had to fight her until she could beat him. Everyday in gym they sparred and every time she lost, but not for nothing. Gohan tended to tell Videl where she would make mistakes and the next day she would have improved.

"I hope you're ready to lose today," Videl said taking her stance.

They both stood in the ring and like always he never took a stance. THe other students surrounded the ring and they all cheered for her to wind. They may have been afraid of Gohan, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be happy to see him finally fall to Videl's hand. Marker watched with his own special intensity. He despised Gohan because he, Marker, believed that Videl was his and Gohan was getting in his way.

"Well, there's always a first time for everything," he said shrugging.

Videl growled and the moment that the coach called for the match to begin, she lunged forward aiming a punch at his face. He redirected the attack with arm and turned slightly to let Videl by him. The moment she recovered she dropped down and turned to sweep kick him, but he jumped above her head and landed behind her.

"Need some help up?" he asked extending his hand.

Once again growling she jumped off of the ground and began a furious barrage of punches and she even threw in a few kicks when she could. Unfortunately, well for her at least, he dodged each one with varying ease. Even if she cornered him, he managed to end up behind her in an instant. It was frustrating and then came an idea. Gohan did a slow roundhouse(to him) and that was when she saw her chance. Seeing the attack, she jumped up and then using his leg as a springboard she jumped even higher.

"I will not lose this time!" she declared.

She drew her fist back for her aerial attack. The only thoughts on her mind were that she could not lose. Even if it was just this once, she had to win. She concentrated all of her feelings into her fist as she descended, or at least that was what she thought it was. Gohan however could see exactly what she was doing. He felt her ki spike and he could see it slowly take form around her fist. Narrowing her form she descended fast and aimed her punch at Gohan, but at the last second he jumped back. So instead she punched the ground causing a crater to form in the arena and cracks to expand from the center to its edge.

"Guess I'm stronger than I thought," she said as she tried to stand back up.

However, as soon as she stood straight, she fell to her knees and collapsed. There were gasps by everyone, but it was more for the damage that she had caused with that one punch. Both Sharpner and Erasa ran to their friend to check on her, but they soon found Gohan standing over them.

"Move, I'll take her to the infirmary," he demanded softly.

"You'll take her?" he heard Marker growl behind him, "You're the reason she's like this."

The musclehead got up into the ring and charged him throwing punch after punch, but none of them landed. Gohan phased behind him and then turned to what appeared to be him slamming the back of his fist into Marker's temple. Instead he stopped just short and tapped it with the joint of his finger and everything went black for Marker.

"If anyone else would rather attack me than help Videl then I hope you've written your will because if you stop me, I'll put you six feet down," he said coolly.

That made the entire class including the coach gulp because they all thought that he was easily capable of doing exactly as he promised. Without further interruption he picked the female fighter up into his arms and carried her to the Nurse's Office. He set her down on the empty bed and removed the glove on her right hand to reveal that some of the skin had been torn away from the knuckles area. He took her hand in his and could instantly tell that her hand was busted.

"Guess I shouldn't have pushed you so hard," he whispered.

Gohan was no idiot and could read the girl like an open book. She was not only intent on beating him, but figuring him out. That is probably what made her so entertaining. The fact that she wanted to get to know him intrigued him because he always made it a point to annoy her. Normally, that would make them stay away, but it only brought her closer to him. That was something he couldn't allow and yet, it felt right to have her near him. Like he said, he was not an idiot, he knew what love was and she was it.

"You really are full of trouble," he chuckled slightly.

He sat there for two hours before she began to stir. He eyes fluttered slightly as they opened. As she awakened, the first thing that saw was a blur of dark blue and maybe some black. As her vision became more focused, she saw that it was Gohan sitting beside her with one leg held up against him. He seemed to be watching her with concern and longing in his eyes, but his eyes soon turned cold.

"Looks like you're finally awake," he commented.

Videl tried to sit herself up, but then noticed the pain in her right hand. She looked down to see that it had been bandaged.

"What happened?" she asked,

"Well, that depends on what you remember," he replied back to her.

Videl placed her hand against her head as she tried to recall exactly what happened, but after she threw that punch, everything went blank.

"You did something that many people spend years trying to learn how to," he explained, "But since you have no control, you ended up using all of your power and you busted your hand"

Pointing to the bandaged part of her body, "If you want my opinion I'd say you should wait two weeks before you take off the gauze. By then your hand should be fixed and given a little stretching it should be in perfect condition."

"Well," she said feigning a sweet attitude, "If I wanted your opinion, I would ask for it."

Gohan got up from the chair and walked up to her and leaned in close until their faces were only inches apart, "Too bad for you, I like to make my opinions known."

He pulled away and walked over to the door before gesturing for her to follow him. Despite how she felt, she did just as he wanted and waited as he guided her up to the roof to ask him any questions. He opened the door and for a minute it seemed as if he was basking in the warm light.

Finally he turned to face her, "Before I do anything further, I want you to try and flex your hand."

She looked at him quizzically, but did as he said. The moment she even tried to bend her fingers further than natural, her entire hand hurt like hell.

"Okay, I don't think you'll be using that Jet-Copter of yours anytime soon," he said and then turned to yell, "FLYING NIMBUS!"

Videl looked at him as if he were insane and was about to turn around until she heard something whizzing through the air. Further out in the sky she could see a yellow line that seemed to be heading towards them. The line then curved as it closed in on them and within a few second a big, fluffy, yellow cloud was floating in between her and Gohan.

"Videl, allow me to introduce you to Nimbus," he said indicating the cloud, "He's going to be your ride from now on, both to and from school."

"Well, as nice as that sounds," she said trying to ignore the seriousness in his voice, "What exactly is this thing?"

Gohan smiled at her reaction, "Exactly like I said, this is Nimbus. When I was a kid I used to fly on this guy all the time. I haven't used him in the last couple years due to personal reasons, but until your hand heals he's at your command. As long as you can ride him that is."

Videl was poking at the cloud suspiciously and for the most part she was slightly tempted to test whether or not someone could really ride on this thing. That was until she realized that last thing he said about "As long as you can ride him."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, "Don't I just hop on?"

"You could, but you see Nimbus is very picky," Gohan smirked slightly, "He's made from the purest material and as such only someone with a pure heart devoid of evil intention."

This made Videl suddenly worried. Would the cloud think of her snooping around trying to find Gohan's secrets out as an evil intention. Then again, it made her wonder...

"Can you even ride this thing?" she asked giving him her own smirk, "Could your personal reasons be that you started having evil thoughts?"

Gohan shrugged and then jumped up on top of the cloud without sinking through.

"I believe that answers your question," he said, "Now let's see if you can do it."

Jumping down he offered her his help, but she obviously declined it as she made her own leap and found that she had settled at the top of the cloud. The girl inside of her was squealing throughout her head, but the tough girl on the outside just grinned at her companion.

"Not bad," he said, "He'll take you where you need to go. Don't ask how, but he'll know where that is. The embarrassing part is that you'll have to yell real loud if you want him to show up."

"I see," she gulped thinking of all the wild stares she would receive if someone heard her calling for it, but she was soon called from her thoughts as she found a navy blue button up shirt being handed to her.

"You better take it," he said, "It gets pretty cold up in the air."

Videl took it and put it on. She felt confused by just how warm it was, although most of the warmth seemed to be coming from inside of her rather than from the shirt.

"Thanks," she said her face becoming red, "I guess I'll get going now."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," he said, "Take her home Nimbus."

As soon as the command had left his mouth, the cloud blasted off to her house, or rather mansion, and it even made sure to go directly to her balcony window. Videl immediately went to her bed and fell asleep clutching at the shirt Gohan had given and with an odd smile on her face.

(The Next Day)

The entire day people were coming up to Videl and wondering about that fantastic punch she threw. She heard from many people that if it had landed on Gohan there was no way that the guy would survive let alone be left standing. She on the other hand had no idea what they were talking about since she couldn't really remember what had happened that day and was hoping that he would explain it. No such luck. She was beginning to wish she was still at her doctor's getting her hand checked out, if only because he didn't keep asking what happened.

"So Vi," Erasa said cheerfully, "What did your doctor say about your hand?"

"Nothing really, just repeating what I already knew," she told her.

She wasn't lying. The doctor only told her what Gohan had already said yesterday. The only difference is that Gohan couldn't provide a note that got her out of Gym activities. However, she really didn't want that. She wanted to fight, she wanted to fight Gohan. Not only that, but she needed an excuse to return his shirt without anyone noticing. If people saw that she had it, they would think the two of them were dating, but would that be a bad thing. Yes! yes it would. She already had to deal with the paparazzi because of her dad, she was not going to let them attack her due to some stupid boy.

"Well, lucky for you," said a new voice, "That it looks like the ring won't be fixed until that hand of yours is alright. Which means our fights have been put on hold."

Videl turned and saw Gohan standing behind her wearing a semi-long sleeved t-shirt with a skull on the chest. Everything else was his usual style that seemed to conceal the muscles she was sure he was hiding. He definitely still had that cocky grin on his face that he always did.

"Although, fight may be too strong a word to describe what happens in that ring," he said as he revealed a toothy grin, "Maybe slaughter is more accurate. Yeah, that is definitely it."

He sat in his seat and could easily tell by the changes in their kis that those who had heard him were currently disgusted with his actions. The problem was that Videl wasn't phased. In fact, this action made her curious. After he had helped her yesterday, she was sure that he was more kind-hearted than he seemed, but now he was acting like a total jerk.

"What happened to the ring?" she asked trying to change the subject, "I mean, it couldn't be that bad, could it?"

Gohan raised an eyebrow and then nudging his head he indicated her friends that were looking at her shocked.

"WHAT?!" she yelled.

"You'll see during gym," said Erasa.

This only made Videl glare at everyone, but eventually she conceded to waiting. Then the promised time had come and she was absolutely shocked to see that the ring had practically been broken into four disfigured triangles.

"Who did this?" she asked hoping that someone would tell something different than she was expecting.

"That would be your handiwork," Gohan smiled at her.

"Oh," she practically choked out, "So what do we do while the ring is being repaired?"

The coach was easily convinced that Videl should rest considering the injury to her hand, but apparently he thought that he could get Gohan to still work. Gohan simply refused to do anything since there was no ring to practice in, though he probably didn't care about that. His other excuse was that there would be no point in training if he didn't have his sparring partner.

"You have to do something!" the coach exclaimed.

"And I am," Gohan said trying to soothe his mood, "It's called relaxing. You should try sometime."

Leaving his coach screaming about he wondered why someone like Gohan was so disobedient. This was funny considering how long he had been in school. One would think that the teachers would have learned that he was not your typical smart kid. He went over to the bleachers and sat next to Videl.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked her.

Erasa interrupted him, " _We're_ planning Videl's birthday party."

That made the female fighter want to hide herself at the way her friend Erasa had said that. It was obvious that she wanted to make it clear to Gohan that he wasn't exactly liked by her or the others. She looked at her sparring partner and could see that he either didn't notice her tone or just didn't care. More than likely it was the latter.

"Birthday, huh?" he seemed curious, "When is it?

That stunned Videl, but she still managed to answer, "It's in two weeks."

"Wow, so at least you won't have to worry about an injured hand at your party," he said as if lightly cheering for her, but his calm demeanor never changed.

"You know I would enjoy it more if maybe you showed up," she said.

Videl, Gohan, and everyone else nearby suddenly stared wide-eyed in many directions. The crowd turned their attention to Videl and Gohan. Erasa stood confused as to what just happened. Normally, she would simply tease Videl about liking a boy, but the boy this time was Gohan and there just wasn't anyway that she would like him. He treats her and everyone else as if they are below him. Videl hates people like that. That same female fighter sat in shock as realization struck about what she had said to him. She not only pretty much invited him, but she had also said that she would like it if he went. That was practically like begging the guy to show up and a Satan does not beg. That left Gohan alone in his feelings and thoughts. As much as he appreciated her kindness, he wasn't exactly excited about attending a gathering where everyone hates him. On second thought, that wouldn't be all too different from being at school.

"I'll think about it," he told her and then left.

Author's Note

I'm not sure whether or not this chapter is up to par, but hey have fun with it. A few things to say about the romance element. I tend to get annoyed reading a GV story where both characters deny their feelings and then two chapters later it's solved. In this my hope is to have Gohan aware of the attraction, but Videl will continue to struggle with it for at least a few more chapters. Also, I know the story is moving fast, but that's more or less me because I don't think this story will last more than thirty chapters and length of each tends to change. This may cause me to rush some chapters and slow down in others.

Review responses

 **Darkswordsman Kirito** : First, thank you for the constructive criticism. I prefer it a lot more than the people who simply write about how my story is an insult to the DBZ franchise, so again I thank you. As much fun as having the stupid aggressive character is, everyone is pretty much too scared of Gohan in this fic. There is Marker, but he appears briefly a few times and then I probably won't even write him in. I don't know, it really does depend on how the story develops.

As for the Piccolo thing, I get that _normally_ Gohan would never do it even if he were depressed. The problem would be that Gohan isn't depressed, but rather certain things have happened and the green man touched a very sensitive topic.

The attitude, let's face it Gohan has always been a little bipolar.

As for the rating, don't worry about it. I'm not going to get mad over someone's opinion and as long as you enjoy the story then I'm good.

 **dcp1992** : I wish I could tell you what happened between the three of them, but that would spoil the fun of discovering things later.

: Yes, Gohan has been training for the last seven years. Trust me if he didn't I wouldn't be able to write this story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer** : I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

Chapter 5

"I can not believe that you invited him," Erasa practically yelled at her.

It had been like this for the last couple hours, Erasa kept badgering her about what had happened. It got so bad that Videl actually agreed to go shopping with the blonde as long as she stopped saying that. She did, but as soon as they got to the mall and there was no way out she started back at it.

"Erasa, for the last time, technically I did not invite him," Videl said calmly, but her eyes showed her irritation.

"Oh really, 'You know I would enjoy it more if maybe you showed up," the blonde recited in her best imitation even though her voice sounded even more girly than usual, if that were possible, "That my friend was an invitation, whether you meant it or not."

Videl sighed. She knew that there was no way Erasa was going to drop this unless something managed to distract her.

"What you need to do is go up to him tomorrow and explain that you don't want he to show up," Erasa said with a happy look on her face.

This made Videl freeze up. Her best friend, who usually told her to be nice to people, was now encouraging her to be downright rude to someone. Did hell just freeze over?

"Look, can we talk about this later?" Videl asked her hoping to change the subject, "Didn't you say that we needed to find new swimsuits for the party?"

"Yes, I did say that, but we will talk about this later," Erasa said pouting.

Videl was thankful for her friends minor distraction, but there was still the issue of what to do about the party. She had no idea why she wanted Gohan to come to her party, especially since she knows he would probably hate it. Actually that was something else that she wanted to know. Why did he act like he did? There were times like when she woke up after passing out, his eyes held this kindness in them that she'd never seen in them before. Then in an instant they turned cold. It was as if he was afraid to let people see that kinder side to him. Instead he shows that egotistical jerk facade, okay maybe he really is slightly like that.

"Videl. VIDEL!" Erasa screamed in her ear.

She jumped and then turned to her friend, "What Erasa?!"

"I was trying to get your attention," her blonde friend said seemingly frustrated, "Have you picked out a suit to wear?"

Videl sighed, even though she knew she needed one, shopping was far from being her favorite activity. She started flipping through the swimwear and found one that she actually liked in her size. It was a red two piece with white trims and strap. She female fighter smirked slightly. Erasa on the other hand was becoming scared of her friend.

"Videl sweety, I'm trying to help you here," she said innocently, but then turned to a scolding tone, "But I can't get rid of Gohan for you, if you keep trying to seduce the guy."

At those word Videl blushed, but it wasn't just because they came from her friend. Oh no, the girl had actually yelled the last part and now everyone in the store was staring at them. Videl gulped and then quickly paid for the item and left.

"I can not believe you just said that," Videl hissed as she heard her friend come up behind her.

"Look, I'm sorry, but you said yourself that you hated Gohan," Erasa explained as she tried to catch up to Videl, "And yet it seems as if you actually want his attention."

That made Videl freeze in her tracks. Was that true? She knew for a fact that Gohan was dangerous. He didn't seem to have any hesitation when it came to hurting people, in fact he didn't mind crippling them when he didn't have to. His skills as a fighter and the way he treated life as a game made him hard to predict. That was something she didn't like. It was one of her skills, she should be able to predict anyone's actions by this point, but all he did was confuse her. Yet, now that she thought about it, it seemed as if lately being near him was all she wanted.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Videl retorted trying to forget her last thought.

"Sure you don't," said Erasa, raising one eyebrow, "That's why you're blushing."

Videl turned to some reflective glass and did indeed see that her face was practically red.

"I'm not blushing," Videl replied indignantly, "I'm just mad that you won't stop bugging me about him."

"Fine, whatever you say girl," Erasa said raising her hands in defeat, "But you should really be careful. You're my friend and I don't want to see you get hurt."

The blonde embraced her in a hug. Videl sighed, but then smiled at her friend's gesture and returned the hug. The two giggled slightly when they noticed that people were staring at them oddly.

"Come on, let's head to my place," the fighter suggested.

Erasa nodded in agreement and raced outside where Erasa had parked her car. The two continued talking and the blonde was careful to avoid approaching the Gohan topic. Though Videl's mind did linger back to him. She knew that some of her more aggressive fans may try to mess with him(God she hoped they weren't that stupid). She let out a small sigh:

" _This is going to be a long two weeks_ ," she thought.

(With Bulma)

The blue haired genius was currently in her lab tinkering away at what ever odd invention she had managed to come up with this time. The sparks from her her blow torch could be seen flying about. Those sparks were practically the manifestation of how she felt right now.

"I can not believe it," she muttered to herself as she stopped her tinkering momentarily and then let out a sigh, "What do you want Vegeta?

Just as she said, the saiyan prince stood behind her watching with indifference, but in reality he was curious about her behavior.

"What did Trunks do to get you mad now?" he asked.

"I didn't do anything," a voice that seemed like a higher pitched Vegeta, "I was with you all day."

A small boy with blue eyes and lavender hair stepped out from behind him. The boy was wearing a green gi with an orange sash and wristbands, as well as yellow boots. His father however wore his usual blue spandex.

"That doesn't mean you didn't do anything yesterday," the prince pointed out.

That silence Trunks immediately as he thought of the possible things that he could have set up yesterday that would upset his mother.

"You didn't do anything Trunks," his mother told him with a sympathetic smile, "I was just thinking about some friends."

Vegeta immediately knew what she meant, "You mean Kakarot's family."

Bulma nodded with a sad look in her eyes. It had been seven years since she heard about Goku's decision from Vegeta. As much as she respected the guy, she always felt he had made the wrong decision leaving his wife and son, as well as his unborn child. That was where her rage was currently coming from.

Seven years ago, it was Bulma that had told Chichi that she was pregnant and the woman didn't even call her to tell her the gender or even when she went into labor. No, to be more exact she hadn't heard from them at all the entire time. Sure, she could always call them, but her pride would not allow it. It was thanks to that pride that she hadn't even spoken to Gohan. When came to the whole family she always had a soft spot for the boy that always did what he could to please his parents. That little boy that had lost his father right in front of his own eyes.

"I was mostly thinking about Gohan," she said with tears forming in her eyes."

Vegeta snorted, "We already know he's doing fine thanks to that new report."

He was right. Two months ago she was channel surfing when she heard about how some crooks had been brutally assaulted by a man with spiky hair. At first she had thought it was Vegeta until she heard that the man was a high school student. The only one with spiky hair of that age was the young half-saiyan. She had actually smiled when she heard about it.

"I know, but still that report said those criminals were practically crippled," she said thinking, "It sounds more like you're handiwork."

"You forget the boy is seventeen and he has seen his fair share of trouble," Vegeta explained monotonously, "It would be idiotic to think he would still be a gentle soul after all that."

"I know, but..." she tried to say, but was interrupted.

"Look, if you're so worried about the brat," Vegeta said calmly, "Then how about you call the rest of the weaklings and then go see them on his birthday."

Bulma was surprised at how good an idea Vegeta had come up with. Not only that, but it even had good intentions. She then looked over at her calendar and saw that it was almost April. That meant Gohan's birthday was a little over a month away.

"Alright, we'll do it."

Author's Note

Okay, I apologize for the short chapter, but I have my reason. I'm wanting to use one whole chapter to explain the party as well as the outcome of it. That will be the next chapter. I also wanted to show that Videl was slowly coming to grips with her feelings for Gohan and leave a few hints on what has been happening with the Son family the last few years. If you think you've figured it out then shoot me a PM

Review Responses:

Revolve X: I'm sorry to say that Mirai Trunks will not be making an appearance in this story.

Darkswordsman Kirito: No, he was being very literal when he said that. In the end he will go to the party or I wouldn't have much of a next chapter.

dcp1992: I'm glad you enjoyed that little aspect. Though I am sorry to say that you only get Erasa's reaction, but you will get to see how they react to him actually being at the party.

lex: Once again, I am glad that people are enjoying my take on Gohan and I really appreciate your analysis of him.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

Chapter 6

(Night of the party)

She could certainly feel them. The eyes of the male crowd that had swarmed around the pool. Almost 90% of them had tried to hit on her and she was pretty sure that they were undressing her in their perverted minds. Thank god she decided to wear a hoodie to cover her top half. Leave it to Videl Satan to wear a bikini and not even show it off. Though she did actually forego the pigtails and instead was wearing her hair down with no accessories. So, despite her tomboyish demeanor, most of the guys were enjoying her new look. The only one's who weren't hitting on her were either nerds, guys too afraid of her, Sharpener(Because he know she'll kill him), and surprisingly Marker along with his crew. That last one was somewhat suspicious because Marker was always trying to hit on her.

"Hey V, what are you doing alone?" she heard Erasa ask.

Videl turned to her blonde friend who was also wearing a bikini with the same striped design as her favorite yellow and green shirt.

"Well, I was looking for my best friend, but looks like she found me," Videl replied with a grin on her face.

"Aw, well aren't you the sweetest," Erasa said while hugging the birthday girl, "Are you enjoying yourself yet?"

Videl laughed slightly, "I would be if it didn't feel like every guy here was going to jump me."

Erasa laughed at that and simply told her that she deserved it for being so hot. The two spend most of their time together along with Sharpener. Though she was having fun with the two of them she was slightly hoping that someone else would show up soon. She looked towards the huge gates that were a ways from the pool, but she never saw it open after the party started.

Videl let out a small sigh and whispered, "I guess he isn't coming."

"Who's not coming?" a familiar voice whispered into her ear.

She turned to her right to see the person she had hoped would show up. Gohan stood with that same smug smile and dark clothing. Though she could still easily see he was well muscled she couldn't quite help but wonder just how defined he was. NO! That was not something she needed to be thinking about.

"Well, it's about time you showed up," she said regaining her confident attitude, "Did you think you were too good to show up on time."

"Maybe I did," he said grinning down at her.

Although she was being playful, she swung her fist at his face, but she didn't hit anything. In fact she couldn't see anything. Gohan had vanished from her sight and before she could think that she had gone craze, she felt an arm resting on her shoulder.

"Not bad, but you're speed is still a problem," he said once she faced him again.

Videl's face turned red slightly as she huffed, "Do you always have to be so damn annoying?

"Why Videl, I thought you enjoyed our little game," he said feigning hurt then chuckled slightly, "You do have to admit that without me around, your life would be a lot more boring."

Videl looked at him like he was crazy, but then she also became aware of all the people watching them. While her two friends were looking at her mostly, probably to see if she was okay, the others were different. Everyone was staring at Gohan with complete and utter disdain. That was when things got worse as Marker decided to make his presence known.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with my girl?" he asked trying to seem intimidating.

He stood with his arms crossed and his chest out. Though in Gohan's opinion, it was kind of hard to be intimidated by a guy where pink swim shorts. Still, he was somewhat irritated with Marker's attitude.

Finally standing on his own feet rather than leaning on Videl slightly, "I was just wishing her a happy birthday, that's all. No need to get so bent out of shape."

Marker was the well known school bully and, other than Videl, he hated it when people talked back to him. He's hated Gohan since the first day not only because he was humiliated, but the nerd actually wasn't afraid of him.

"Listen here Nerdhan(Creative right? Bullies never are) let's get some things straight," he said snarling, "Videl is my girl and no one is allowed to touch her. Not only that, but she doesn't even want you. Nobody does, everyone here hates your guts and wishes you would just drop dead."

That last part had turned from a snarl to a full on yell. The half-saiyan looked around and could see the obvious agreement in all of their eyes. Marker, for once was right, most of the people here did want him to disappear. Only there was a problem with his reasoning, they didn't hate him. They feared him and he could certainly use that.

Gohan started out chuckling, but then he turned to a full laugh causing everyone to back away.

Giving a slight wave Gohan walked passed him, "Thanks man, I really needed a laugh. So, I'll see you later."

Videl's eyes widened at the thought that he was leaving her to the vultures, but almost as if he had been reading her mind, "Don't worry V, I'm staying. After all, I do still have to give you your birthday present."

Now the female fighter could only stare as she watched him move through the crowd. She let out a sigh once people started moving around again and blocking her view of his retreating form. She then turned to face Marker who had a triumphant look on his face, which only served to anger her. Videl walked over to him and slammed her fist into the right side of his face.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he asked gripping the side of his face, "I got him to leave you alone just like you wanted. Fuck, a guy tries to protect his girl and gets nailed for it."

Videl's eyes were shining with fury, but her voice was kept calm, "Listen, for one I am not your girl, nor will I ever be. Two, you didn't get rid of him, the guy can beat both of us without breaking a sweat. Do you really think he's scared of you?"

Marker stared at her with wide-eyes and thinking that she got her message across she left in search of Gohan. However, it turns out that Marker had only heard the first part of her rant.

"Not my girl eh?" he practically snarled, but then smiled, "Well, you'll be changing your tune after tonight."

He then turned to get back to his friends and plot out what he had planned for tonight.

(With Gohan)

The half-saiyan had relocated himself to be next to beverage counter and despite his normally humongous appetite, he did not touch the food. Instead, he simply grabbed a drink and based on the smell, what had been simple fruit punch was now laced with alcohol. Not that it mattered, his saiyan metabolism would neutralize the alcohol before it could even have any effect. Hell, there wouldn't even be any trace of the stuff in his system no matter how much he drank. Such is the life of being a saiyan.

Within an hour Gohan had already consumed about twenty glasses and wasn't even tingling. Which was actually a good thing since he had decided to keep an eye on everybody just to make sure no one got out of hand. Problem was, he wasn't exactly watching everyone. His eyes were practically glued to Videl as he watched her mingle and hell, she even went out on the dance floor. He caught every move she made, every twitch of her muscle, and every breath she took. If there was one thing that he could never deny to himself, it was that she had captivated him. Though, it was almost heartbreaking to know that he could never have her.

"That reminds me," he said as he remembered a certain someone.

On the other side of the huge pool area(And I do mean huge. The pool is olympic sized and the area around it would probably equal the stadium) stood Marker and his crew. Something was not right. For about the last half hour Marker had been passing Videl drinks and though she did seem okay, it did not help Gohan's sense of unease.

"So, enjoying the view?" he heard a high pitched voice ask him.

He didn't even have to look to know who it was, "What do you want Erasa?"

"Nothing really. I was just noticing how you've been standing over here the whole time," she said innocently enough, but then her voice turned slightly mischievous, "And I also saw how you were watching Videl."

Gohan tensed slightly, but soon relaxed again. Unfortunately for him, Erasa had noticed the subtle change.

She let out a sigh and looked at him with pity, "Look, Videl is my friend and I don't want to see her get hurt. So, I think it would be better if she didn't get involved with you."

She looked over at him and he gave her an understanding smile, "I agree. My life has too many dangers and I'll be damned if I ever let someone I love die because of me again."

As he said this, those images returned to him. The shadowy figure that laid on the ground and the baby screaming. His face paled as that scene replayed in his mind and breathing became heavier. He didn't notice, but Erasa was now looking at him with concern. For just a second she could now see what maybe Videl could. A person who was being tortured by something that he isn't willing to let go.

"The problem though, is that I just can't seem to let go of her," he said smiling back at her.

He turned back to the crowd when he noticed something odd. Videl was on the dance floor, but rather than dancing she looked like she was about to faint. She nearly fell, but was caught by Marker who for some reason seemed rather pleased with himself. Marker got Videl back to her feet, but Gohan didn't miss it when the guy tried to grope Videl's ass.

Then Gohan's eyes widened when he realized something and growled, "That mother fucker!"

Before Erasa could even register what was going on, Gohan had already moved down the steps and over to the two. Thing was, nobody had even seen him as he maneuvered through the crowd, but they all heard him when he knocked Marker on his ass. The moment he hit Marker, Videl's body nearly collapsed to the ground, but he caught her easily. He looked at her with concern, but then noticed a plastic cup lying on the ground. He picked it up and sniffed it. While it smelled like ordinary punch there was a slight hint of a salty substance. Normally, the scent isn't detectable by human noses, but Gohan's senses were on overdrive.

Gohan let out a an inaudible growl before asking, "What do you think you were doing?"

Marker could easily see that Gohan wanted to kill him, but remained calm thinking that he could easily handle some nerd. No matter how buff he is.

"Videl just had a little too much to drink," he explained aware of all the onlookers, "I was just going to help her up to her room."

The half-saiyan was about ready to blow up, but luckily Sharpner and Erasa had gotten through the crowd to them. He let out a sigh as he picked up Videl and walked her over to her friends.

"Sharpner, I need you to take Videl to her room so she can rest," he said, "Also try to give her this."

He handed the male blonde what looked like a starburst candy.

"You're going to let Sharpner take her?" Marker whined, "I'm stronger than that idiot. Here, let me take her."

The moment the guy took a step forward a strange wind came from nowhere and threw him back a good ten feet. Sensing that something was about to happen Erasa convinced Sharpner to do as Gohan instructed.

"Sure thing," he gulped as he sensed the same thing.

All that was left was a Sharpner shaped dust cloud as he ran inside. Erasa giggle slightly at her friends action, but then turned to see Gohan and Marker in a staring contest. The two of them were standing in front of each other and both carried their own threatening look. Though for some reason Marker's look soon changed to fear as Gohan spoke to him.

(The Conversation)

Marker had gotten up after being knocked down for no reason and marched over to Gohan.

"Listen freak, I'd recommend you get out of my way," he snarled, "If you don't I'll kill you and no one will ever find out because like I said before, everyone wants you dead."

For the first time Marker got a good look at Gohan's eyes and saw the coldness of them.

"Oh, have you finally shut up for once," the half-saiyan said, "Good. Now listen up, I don't care what these idiots want. I don't care how they feel, but what I do care about is what you did to Videl."

The bully's eye twitched in guilt slightly before saying, "I did nothing other than try to help her to room."

Gohan wanted to laugh at the idiot's belief that he was being convincing, "Yeah, then what? Did you plan on raping her while she was doped up on ketamine?"

The moment that those words left his mouth, Marker's menacing look vanished and was now replaced with fear.

Before he could say another word in defense, "I'll let you in on something, that candy I gave for Videl is a medicine that eliminates such toxins leaving absolutely no trace. That means the police won't be able to find out about this. However, I do know what you did, so understand that if you ever try a stunt like that again: I. Will. Break you!"

Gohan made sure that his message came across loud and clear, then he sent Marker away with his tail between his legs.

Feeling that his job wasn't quite finished yet he yelled, "Okay everyone, party's over! Now get out!"

At first they looked at him like he was crazy until he decided to show them an interesting trick. Gohan slammed his fist into the concrete and created a crater that made everyone run. Gohan let out a small sigh(Boy everyone is sighing a lot in this chapter).

"Okay, so should I leave too?" Erasa question nervous about talking to him and flinched when he turned to face her.

"No, after all you are Videl's friend," he said, "Besides I need you to show me the way to the kitchen."

"Um...alright?" she asked more than said.

Not wanting to be the one to question a guy that can punch through solid concrete she showed him to the kitchen and watched him as he got to work. She was astounded as he moved. He was cooking several dishes simultaneously with amazing precision. After about an hour, he was finished cooking enough food to feed five people.

"What's with all the food?" she asked.

"I gave Sharpner a type of medicine I developed that erases all traces of alcohol and narcotics from the system. The only downside to it is that in order for it to work it has to increase one's metabolic rate exponentially," he explained, "If he gave to Videl like I told him to, she will probably be starving by now."

Erasa could only stare at him shocked. Sure, she knew he was smart thanks to all of his test scores, but she just figured that he was only good at taking them. She had no idea he was developing stuff like that.

"Come on, you can show me the way," he told her.

Erasa blinked, but then realized he had no idea where her friend's room was and quickly started guiding him. Unknown to her was that he did know where she was, but he just didn't want to seem like he was some kind of stalker. As she guided him, she became aware that she was taking someone she didn't even trust to Videl's room. Erasa gulped and looked back at him. He cocked an eyebrow and smirked as if he had read her mind.

"Don't worry so much," he told her, "I'm just trying to help her out."

Although she didn't trust him, she could tell that he really did care for Videl based on what he had said before. So, she continued to take him there and soon they arrived. When they opened the door Videl was sitting on her bed and Sharpner had been left imprinted into the wall.

"It's about time," the blonde male groaned, "Can one you help me out here?"

He said that last part as he tried to squirm out of the wall. Gohan chuckled, but decided he would give the guy a break. He grabbed Sharpner's shirt and with one quick pull he was free and was soon dropped on the floor.

"Thanks," he said dusting himself off.

"No problem," Gohan commented.

"Well, now that that's taken care of," Videl said gently, but then screamed, "CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON?"

They all flinched at her voice, especially Gohan due to his heightened hearing. While it may not be on the same level as a Namekian, that didn't make Videl's yelling any better. The two blondes were the first to recover and immediately said they had no clue what had happened. They were also very quick to point out that it was Gohan's idea she be brought up here.

Videl turned her glare to the dark clothed teen, "So?"

Gohan feigned innocence, "So what?"

Though it didn't work that well since he kept that smirk of his glued to his face causing Videl to groan.

"So, are you going to tell me why you had Sharpner bring me up here?" though before anything else could be said there was large growl that emanated from Videl's stomach.

Gohan chuckled and pulled the cart of food into the room, "Before that, how about you eat something."

Videl stared at the food longingly, as if she hadn't just eaten an hour ago.

"Just so you two know, you may want to leave," he said towards the two blondes, "This is going to get ugly."

Sharpner and Erasa looked confused until Videl started eating. Hell, that was not eating, that was inhaling. Finally understanding his meaning the two left him to deal with their ravenous friend. As she ate, Gohan had to laugh because if they thought this was bad, they had never seen how a saiyan eats. Within minutes the female fighter had successfully eaten every bite and collapsed back into her bed.

"Man, that was delicious," she said, "My compliments to the chef."

"Well, as the chef I accept your compliment," he said bowing slightly.

"You cooked that?" she asked surprised, "I would never have guessed that you'd know how."

"There's a lot you don't know about me," he said shrugging.

Videl smiled at the gesture, but then remembered something important. She made her way over to a dresser and pulled out a familiar piece of clothing.

"Hey, my shirt," he said as she handed it to him, "I figured you'd have thrown it out by now."

Videl blushed slightly, "It wasn't really mine to get rid of."

"Still, it was nice of you to keep it for this long," he said smiling at her.

Videl could feel a strange warmness swarm all through her and was happy to receive a compliment. In fact, she was happy that he was just sitting with her. However, her smile soon disappeared as she decided to ask a question that she had been wanting since she first met him.

"Why did you do it?" she asked, "There's no doubt that you're strong, but did you really have to cripple those people like that?"

Gohan's smile had faltered and his eyes took on their icy appearance once again, "So, you're saying that because I'm such a good fighter I must have had other options, right?"

Videl nodded. Of course there must have been other ways of dealing with the situation.

"You're right," he admitted to her, "I had a total of three options."

She actually smiled, "Then maybe from now on you should use those other ones."

"You misunderstand," he said, "The first option is to do what you do. To simply knock them out and allow them to be arrested in one piece. The problem with that method is that the criminal's will be let back out eventually to commit their crimes all over again."

Now that was a blow to Videl's pride. She had always assumed that she was helping to make the city safer. Yet, now when she thought about it, a lot of the times she ended up fighting the same crooks over and over again.

"What I did that day was the second option," he explained, "By crippling them, I have prevented them from ever committing a major crime again because now they no longer have the same mobility. Now, if that's all I'll be leaving."

Before he could take five steps, "Wait, what about that third option? How well would it have worked?"

Gohan did not turn to face her, but he maintained his serious tone, "It would have stopped them from committing a crime of any sort..."

Videl's ears perked up at such an idea, "Because they would be dead."

Her eyes widened not only by his words, but by the ease the words came out of his mouth. Videl was shaking, unsure of how to continue.

"You're joking right?" she asked after a while, "I mean, you make it sound as if it would be easy to kill someone."

Once again Gohan never turned to face her so she was unable to see the look of pain on his face, but he knew he had to say it, "It certainly wouldn't be the first time I've had blood on my hands."

By this point Videl had a look of pure fear in her eyes as she stared at his back. Was he really a killer and if he was, just how many people have died by his hands.

"How can you talk so easily about taking someone's life?" she asked, her voice trembling, "Are you some kind of monster?"

"Call me what you will," he said shrugging her comment off, no matter how much it truly hurt, "But understand it won't take much for you to end up like me. The only real difference between us is that I know what it's like to have my life at risk"

Videl shouted at him, "I am out risking my life everyday fighting criminals, how can you sa..."

Gohan had turned and moved very quickly. He had grabbed hold of Videl's wrists and pinned them above her head. She now was forced to look directly into Gohan's eyes. She could see how cold they were. She could only wonder what had happened to him to make him like this.

"Have you ever been in a situation like this?" he asked in a scolding tone, "Have you ever been so backed into a corner that you're forced to make a decision? When you're in that situation there are only two choices: Either you kill or you die."

"I will never stoop so low," she growled at him.

"Oh really?" he said sending her a questioning stare.

Videl struggled to get out of his grip, which was managed by one hand, but then stopped when she heard the sound of her hoodie's zipper being undone. She trembled as he ran his free hand along curve of her back.

"The fact is if I wanted to I could take you," he explained, "And you wouldn't be able to stop me."

She stared at him, she knew what he said was true. There was just one thing that confused her right now more than anything. Did she actually want to stop him? Their faces were mere inches away from each other in their current position. Apparently, she wasn't the only who noticed as Gohan inched closer and their lips met. Though both were surprised that did not mean they separated immediately. In fact, the two seemed enticed to continue as their tongues mingled. Gohan's hands tread along the curves of the fighter's body. His saiyan senses were going into overdrive. The sound of her breathing, the smell of the pheromones she was releasing. He was about to lose control, but then pulled back.

"No," he said softly, his breathing becoming more erratic, "That's enough."

Finally regaining his senses he began to walk away until he remembered one last thing. He pulled a small capsule from his pocket, clicked it, and then threw back to her. When it exploded, there was a small brown box with a ribbon on it.

"Happy birthday," he said before walking out of the room.

As he walked out, the two blondes decided it was about time to head back in to make sure Videl was okay. When they saw her, they couldn't help, but notice the confused yet sad look on her face.

"Videl, what happened?" Erasa asked with concern in her voice.

"I have no idea," she confessed.

She turned her attention back to the box, but instead of opening it, she placed it in the drawer of her bedside table.

(Back with Gohan)

It hadn't taken Gohan even a few seconds to get back to his house. He opened the door and as usual the entire place was dark. Not that it mattered, there was no one to greet him anyway. Besides he knew where everything was, so there was no way he was going to trip on anything. He walked in and stopped across the room at a small shelf attached to the wall. On it was the picture of him in his younger years and a small boy with hair that most would find reminiscent of a palm tree.

"Goodnight Goten," he whispered with a sad smile, "I really miss you squirt."

Author's Note

I don't really have anything to say about this chapter. I had thought it would be a lot shorter, but I think it went well enough.

Review Responses:

 **WineIXI** : Thanks for the welcome

 **dcp1992** : Yeah, I wanted to do something different with Gohan and I couldn't very well do that if even Erasa who like everybody was all buddy-buddy with him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer** : I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

Chapter 7

(Three days later)

Videl, Erasa and Sharpner sat on the roof of their school. The two blondes were talking about something that she didn't really care about at the moment. Which was actually a lot of things since all she could really think about right now was the incident with Gohan. His kiss, his touch, his voice. Everything threatened to send her into a pleasurable daydream.

"Ahhh," she groaned trying to get the image of what happened out of her head.

She was Videl Satan. She was tough, a fighter and had no time to be worrying about some stupid guy. Especially if that guy goes around and acts like a pretentious prick.

"Videl, are you okay?" she heard Erasa ask her.

She turned to see that both of them were looking at her with worry. This made the crime fighter guiltily nervous. She never told them what had happened when they left her alone with Gohan.

"I...I'm fine," she stuttered and hoping that Erasa didn't notice how flustered she was.

Thankfully she lucked out. Erasa instantly bought what she said and turned back to further discuss whatever it was that they were discussing. Videl sat in deep thought until the familiar ringing of the school bell went off.

She sighed, but stood up, "Come one guys, let's get this terrible day over with."

It wasn't necessarily a long walk to the classroom, but the arrival could have had better timing. At the same moment that she had reached for the door, so did another hand. Videl didn't need to look at his face, just based on the long skin-tight wristbands, she knew that the hand belonged to her current source of misery.

"Good morning," she said, but then mumbled the name, "Gohan."

She expected him to make a smartass retort, but instead he just moved his hand away from the doorknob. The female fighter glanced at him through her peripherals and could see that he had turned his head away from her. He was even making an odd gesture by scratching the back of his head(Doesn't that sound familiar).

"Um...Videl?" Erasa questioned trying to make her presence known.

Videl turned back to her friends unaware that her face was redder than a tomato, "I just realized that I left something in my locker."

Without further explanation she ran off into the hallway. Of course, rather than go to her locker, she decided to go to the gym. That was always the place she went whenever something was bothering her. Mostly because she could just take her frustrations out on a sandbag. That was always something to look forward to. But apparently she was not going to have an easy day at all.

"Hey Videl," she heard a repulsive voice call out to her.

She nearly gagged when she saw Marker already inside with all the exercise equipment.

"What do you want Marker?" she asked not even trying to disguise the venom in her voice.

The jock just walked up and started circling her. Videl watched him carefully and noticed every gesture he made. The bastard was practically stripping her with his eyes and licking his lips like he was ready to devour her. His eyes were filled with absolute lust.

"You know you really are beautiful," he said, "It's too bad it had happen like this."

She looked at him with confusion, but then was grabbed from behind as a rag was pressed against her face. The rag had a familiar scent; Chloroform. The moment she realized that, she could already feel the effects. Oddly, she only became weaker, her body was no longer able to support itself, but she remained conscious. That meant the sample had been diluted. Not that it would have done her any good. As stated before, she could no longer move on her own.

"Okay, we got her, now what?" asked the guy that was still holding her.

"Take her to the storage building out back," Marker ordered, "I need to get rid of this."

He indicated the rag. Normally, Videl would have been impressed by the fact that Marker was acting somewhat smart. Thing was that the one time he's being smart is when he's performing a crime. Just as he was told the crony dragged her to the storage building that was at the back of the gym. Unfortunately, the asshole who designed the school building decided to put in a blind spot from all the windows. The guy that was dragging her opened the door and instead of being nice, he picked her up slightly then threw her in. It was a good thing her body was numb right now.

"Oohoo, this is going to be fun," she heard a voice say.

There were several other voices that laughed in agreement. Since she couldn't move her head it was impossible to see their faces, but she could recognize their voice no problem. Every last one of them were guys that Marker tended to hang around.

"Should we tie her up?" one guy asked.

"Probably, Marker did say that stuff was diluted," said the guy who dragged her, "Who knows when the stuff will wear off."

"Why would he want something that could easily stop working?" some deep-voiced guy asked.

"Because he wants her to feel it when he fucks her brains out," the guy said slightly laughing.

Videl's eyes widened, or at least she thinks they did. These guys were planning to rape her.

"Do we still get a piece?" asked another guy sounding eager.

At that moment she heard the door open, "Don't worry you'll get your fun after I've had mine. Now, let's get this party started."

Videl knew that was Marker's voice. The moment he shut that door, she felt a fear that she never thought she would feel. Each step that this psycho made had her heart beating faster than ever. He kneeled down next to her and forcefully turned her face towards him. And then placed something in her view. It was Smith & Wesson M&P combat knife(I am putting the exact name because I don't really know how to describe the look, so you can just google it.)

"Now listen up, in a few minutes the chloroform with start wearing off," he told her, "But you aren't going to do anything. You're to just stay like you are while we enjoy our intimacy. You make any motion to escape and I'll cut you into ribbons."

Videl managed to growl, but that only made Marker happy. That meant the chloroform was starting to wear off. As if to test to what extent, he placed his hand on her upper thigh. She had a shiver run up her spine the moment she felt the contact. The reaction was enough to let Marker know that she had some feeling back. Not being the kind of guy to wait, he made another use of his knife and cut through Videl's oversized shirt. He was somewhat excited to see that the female fighter bound her chest in bandages rather than wear a bra. He was about to cut through them until he felt Videl's fist ram him in the face. Unfortunately, she wasn't up to full strength, so all it did was cause his head to jerk back. Marker smirked before he backhanded Videl's face this time.

"You know, I was going to be gently about this, but you just couldn't accept my kindness," he said.

Too bad the words never reached her. When he backhanded her, she hit her head on the concrete floor and fell unconscious. At this point he didn't care. Using the knife, he cut through the bandages and started running his hands over her breasts. He worked his way down to her shorts and forcefully ripped them off of her. Now that he could see the prize he was wanting, he couldn't contain himself. Neither could anyone else as they surrounded. Most of them were placing their hands on her. Others already had their pants down and were jerking off to her.

"This is going to be great," Marker whispered raspily.

He tried to remove her panties(Yes she wears them. Got to give her some feminine qualities), but was sorely interrupted when the door to the building went flying over his head.

"I was wondering why you were missing from class," said a very familiar voice, "But to think you were up to something like this. You should really be ashamed."

Marker, along with everyone else, were trembling. The voice may have had a teasing tone, but no one could mistake the aura of pure malice that was emanating from the newcomer. Marker turned to see exactly who had hoped to avoid: Gohan!

(About 20 minutes earlier)

Gohan watched as Videl's form retreated into the halls. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't slightly hurt by the gesture. Still, he understood that it must have been awkward to interact with him after that kiss. She may even be regretting that it happened. He sure as hell was. He could not believe that he had done that, after everything he'd told himself. After everything he'd promised, there was no way that he was going to let himself succumb to these damn teenage hormones.

"Uh, Gohan," he heard Erasa mumble, "Are you coming in?"

Gohan turned to see that both she and Sharpner had entered the classroom. Letting out a sigh, he followed after them up to their desks. There they sat for quite some time. For the most part it was peaceful since a certain jock and his buddies weren't causing trouble. Though that was a problem, Marker may be easy to predict, but that didn't mean that Gohan didn't worry. Especially since Marker kept trying to get with his mate.

 _What the hell!_ Gohan's eyes widened as soon as that word entered his thought. He knew that he was in love with Videl, but could he really consider her his mate. For once, Gohan wished he could talk to Vegeta about something. Oh well, it was way too late for that. After all, it was obvious that everyone had moved on with their lives and so had he. For now, there was no room for them.

"Maybe one day," he whispered to himself.

Gohan's attention snapped forward as he heard that annoying school bell ringing. If it weren't for the fact that he had learned how to use ki to block out sound; he would have destroyed that damn thing.

"That's weird," he heard Erasa say, "It's been like ten minutes. Her lockers not that far away."

Sharpner, who was busy flexing his muscles, said, "She probably got a call from the chief or maybe she went to the gym. Either way, we probably won't see her until next period."

He didn't know why, but for some reason that didn't sit right for him. Gohan stood up and walked down the steps, but was stopped as he made his way to the door.

The teacher grabbed his shoulder, "Mr. Son, I understand that you already know the material, but you can't just leave class when you wish to."

Gohan turned to face his teacher,but he was also letting out a huge amount of his intent to kill. The release of this intent warped everyone's perception. To them, Gohan had become a monster.

"I will only give you one warning," he said coldly, "Never try to stop me. Unless you suddenly have a death wish."

In an instant he reigned in the overwhelming pressure and the distorted image of him became normal.

"Now if you'll excuse me," he said turning away, "I have something better to do."

His body moved on its own as he maneuvered through the empty halls. He didn't search for any ki. Nor did he try to track her by scent. Either one would explain the ease and certainty in which he moved, but right now there was no rhyme or reason to why he was going this way. Within minutes he was by the back exit of the gym. Just ahead of him were two idiots that were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't notice him.

"Man, can you believe how lucky we are?" the one on the left was practically cheering

"Lucky, all we're going to get is some leftovers," the other complained.

"Yeah, but from now on we can fuck that Satan bitch all we want," he added.

The put a smile on the other's face. While they laughed they remained ignorant of the figure that was walking towards them. In an instant, the two were coughing up blood. They were unable to scream in pain as they felt an invisible shattered their bodies and sent them flying both in unconsciousness and out into the field. In their place stood Gohan. The half-saiyan gently placed his hand on the door. Thing was it was only gentle by his standards. At the moment of contact the door caved in and went flying. This gave Gohan a disgustingly perfect view of what was happening. He smirked as he leaned against the doorframe.

"I was wondering why you were missing from class," he said teasingly, "But to think that you were up to something like this. You should really be ashamed."

He was sure that he made anger obvious and based on the way everyone was trembling, he had succeeded. There was a total of 13 guys standing around her. But to be honest he only cared about the ones who had actually touched her. More importantly, he cared about making them pay, especially Marker.

"I really can't believe that you did this," Gohan said with a sigh and changing from a smirk to dead serious face, "After I was so nice to warn you last time. Now, you guys may want to pull your pants up. At least that way you won't look too ridiculous when stomp you into the dirt."

They suddenly grew determined. There was no way they would allow their pride to take such a hit. Like he instructed, those had pulled down their pants were now pulling them back up. Everyone, except Marker, took a fighting stance. All of their stances were the same, but since they were all students of the Satan gym it was only natural. He let out a sigh.

"Pathetic," he said.

Marker's eyes widened as he turned back towards Videl to see Gohan was now standing over her. The room was now filled with a cracking sound. Now turning back towards his friends he could see what happened. Everylast of them had strange imprints on their bodies as if they had been hit. Blood dripped from their mouths as they collapsed to the ground.

"Hey Marker," Gohan said causing the bully to freeze in place, "That bruise on Videl's face. Were you the one who caused it?"

Marker once again turned to face Gohan and could easily see the look of absolute rage filling his eyes. There was no doubt that the guy had a temper, but compared what he was seeing now, all those outbursts were like a warm summer breeze. Right now, he was facing a category five hurricane.

"Get away from me you monster!" Marker yelled, his face contorted in fear.

Gohan smirked, "Funny, you seem like more of a monster than I do. Trying to rape an innocent young girl, that is most definitely a punishable act."

As soon as he took a step forward Marker tried to escape. Before he realized it Gohan was in front of him driving a kick into his lead leg. The bone easily snapped under the pressure, but before Marker could scream out in pain Gohan rammed his fist into his gut. This only let him give a small breath. Gohan then uncurled his fingers slightly forming a claw attack and using the open palm he struck Marker in the jaw. Spinning around he rammed his elbow in the bully's shoulder. Continuing with the spin his next attack was a knee into Marker's side. Then with a quick assault he began attacking anywhere he could. He broke every bone that he could, but he also made sure that his victim remained conscious to feel every ounce of pain. Figuring it was time to end it he landed an uppercut. As Marker ascended slightly into the air Gohan had leaped up and used a kick to act as a hook to capture him by the back of the neck. Finally, he slammed both his foot and Marker's head into the ground.

"You had better hope that we never come face to face again," he declared.

Gohan walked to Videl's side and kneeled down. Her hair was disheveled and had been let loose from their usual pig-tail fashion. Other than the ripped clothing and the bruised face, she seemed fine. Gohan removed the dark blue dress shirt that he was wearing over his t-shirt and dressed her in it. He looked down at her sleeping figure in compassion and without realizing he was doing it, he kissed her bruised cheek.

"You really are a hassle," he whispered into her ear.

He picked her up into his arms and carried her out of the storage room. The moment he was outside he took flight to the nearest hospital.

Author's Note

Okay, by popular demand we have the attempted rape chapter. I hope you are happy. In any case don't be too disappointed because I have no experience with a real rape scene. Plus, with this version of Gohan do you really think that he would allow too much time to pass if Videl and Marker were both missing? So obviously, he moved fast.

Review Responses:

 **Critic:** Are we happy now about the mate thing because we are now seeing that his saiyan side is starting to push him forward. By the time I get back to the event of the original Chapter 7, he will have fully accepted this fact. As for the 100K words thing, I don't even know if it will get that high. But I do still hope that you will continue to enjoy the story.

 **Darkswordsman Kirito** : Everything will now be explained if not in the next chapter then maybe the one after, but it will eventually.

 **Lightningblade49:** Gohan does not need sympathy, but he still accepts it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

Chapter 8

Videl slowly opened her eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling. She stared at it in confusion and blinked a few times just to make sure that she wasn't hallucination. Okay, so she had no idea where she was, but based on the softness that pressed against her back she was in a bed. Though to be honest it wasn't that comfortable, so it was not her bed. Videl picked herself up until she was in seated position. When the covers fell she recognized that she was wearing a hospital gown.

Videl's look of confusion returned, "Why am I in a hospital?"

"It might be because I brought you here," she heard a voice say.

Videl suddenly started sweating bullets as she recognized the person whom she was speaking with. Of all the people that she had to be in the same room with, why did have to be the very person that she was avoiding. She looked over to the hospital window to see Gohan sitting on the open window sill. As usual he carried that smirk on his face.

In order to seem confident she attempted to glare at him, "Why is it that everytime I end up in some kind of trouble, you're always the first one there."

Gohan's smirk turned into a grin, "Because I'm such a nice guy."

She rolled her eyes. But they soon shifted back to him. There was something off about Gohan at the moment. Sure the guy was hard to read, but at this moment there that she couldn't really explain.

"Gohan," she said staring with a blank expression, "Are you in a bad mood?"

At first Gohan looked at her with a stunned look, but then let out a surprising laugh. It was unlike that time he had laughed at her father or Marker's statement. Those times his laugh was merely a way of getting a reaction out of people. Right now though, he was genuinely laughing.

"What's so funny?" she asked as a small tick mark formed.

"It's just that most people who wake up suddenly in a hospital," he explained still laughing, "Would want to know why they were there or how long they were out."

That ...actually made sense. Still there was no point in asking why she was there when she already knew the answer. She remembered exactly what happened up until Marker knocked her out. The moment she thought of the incident her eyes widened as she hugged herself. She began shaking at the thought of what happened. Then she turned to see that Gohan was now standing beside her bed. He looked down at her, but she was unable to face him. She tried to avert her eyes, but failed when he took hold of her face. He turned her attention back towards him and only showed her a smile.

"You don't need to worry," he whispered, "Nothing happened to you."

Videl's eyes widened once again, but not in shame or fear. Her eyes were expressing hope.

"You're incredibly lucky that I got there when I did," he said letting go of her and then backed away, "If I hadn't then something bad would have happened."

Videl couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had Gohan really saved her? If he did that would be great, but that still begged the question...

"Then why am I in a hospital?"

At this Gohan started scratching the back of his head as his smile became serious. He turned away slightly, but told her, "I figured you'd prefer to hear from a doctor rather than someone like me."

Now that was not the answer she was expecting, who would have thought the big bad Gohan was actually considerate of other people. Even though she had seen evidence of it enough times, the whole jerk act just covered it up and made her forget about it sometimes.

Videl giggled slightly, "Thank you. It really means a lot to me that you care." Her face then became serious, "I still can't believe that jerk tried to rape me."

"Well, this is the same guy who slipped drugs into your drink at the party," Gohan told her.

The female fighter simply nodded in agreement until she felt something was off about what he just said. She replayed that line in her head a few times allowing it to sink in. When it did, she jumped up to her feat and closed in on the half saiyan.

"He did what at the party?!" she screamed at him.

As usual he remained calm and repeated, "He slipped some ketamine into your drink."

"And you're just now telling me!" she yelled, "If you had said something before, then he could have been arrested and none of this would have happened!"

Gohan sighed as he explained, "That's not entirely true since there would be no way to prove that he even had the stuff."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, "All the cops would have to do is do a drug test on me."

"Sure, but the problem lies in the fact that I had Sharpner give you a medicine," he said, "This medicine wipes such harmful toxins like alcohol and narcotics from the system as if they were never there in the first place. That's why you were so hungry."

Videl trembled slightly before falling back onto the bed, "So there was no way of stopping this?"

This time it was Gohan's eyes that widened when he realized that Videl was scared. Idiot, of course she was scared after something like that almost happening to her. It was unfortunate, but he had no idea what to do in this situation.

He sat beside her and drew her closer to him. He stroked his hand through her black hair as her head rested on his chest and whispered into her ear, "Don't worry, they won't bother you again. I promise you that much."

The two stayed like that for some time until they heard a slight cough coming from the doorway. The both of them immediately jumped away from each other and turned to see the origin of the cough. Standing at the door was a doctor and nurse. The doctor kept a stoic face, but the nurse was in a fit of giggles at the sight of them.

"Well now, I see that young Miss Satan is doing well," she said, "This young man informed us of what happened and asked us to run some test just to assure you. So, if you don't mind we'd like to begin."

Gohan let out a cough of his own, "Um, yeah, sure. In any case I need to get back to school. So, I'll see you tomorrow."

This last bit was meant for Videl who just nodded in response. Unable to contain the blush that she knew was coloring her face. Taking her response, he left.

(The Next Day)

Videl hated this feeling that she was experiencing: embarrassment. Class would be starting in ten minutes and here she was waiting by Gohan's locker. She was acting like some weirdo that was stalking their crush. She facepalmed as she realized that was pretty much what she was doing right now. Still, she had been standing in that spot for some time, but he hadn't showed up. Then again, it wasn't as if he ever brought notebooks with him. Hell, she wasn't sure that he ever even used his locker.

"That's right," she told herself, "He must already be in class."

However, she was soon disappointed as she found that his seat was empty. She let out a small sigh as she walked up the steps to her seat next to Erasa.

"Hey Videl," Erasa said nervously, "So, how are you doing?"

She raised an eyebrow before answering, "I'm fine, how are you?"

Erasa pouted before pulling the female fighter into a hug, "Oh, you brave girl. You don't have to worry about people judging you. So, just be honest about it."

Videl looked over Erasa's shoulder to see Sharpner looking at her with sympathy. Having had enough of her friend's invasion of her personal space, she pushed Erasa back a bit.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

Erasa looked like she was about to cry as she spoke, "I'm talking about how you were raped yesterday."

Videl's eyes widened(That seems to be her reaction to a lot of things lately).

"The police came by because they heard about how 15 guys were beaten badly," she explained, "Then they found your clothes all torn up and started questioning everyone. They were telling people the situation and asking how Marker and his gang acted with everyone. I mean sure Marker's an asshole, but he is trained by your dad so that told the police that he was a nice guy. Then Gohan showed up after going missing and you were missing too. Next thing you know everyone is saying that Gohan must have done something to you and was probably the one who beat up Marker and his buddies. I think he mentioned a rape, but I wasn't really listening and then people kept blaming him. Now he's suspended!"

Videl was blinking confusion at first. After all, as far she was concerned everything that was just said as if it were all one word. She swore that if Erasa didn't learn to speak slower she was going to have to start recording their conversations just so she could slow her down on her own.

"Okay, let me get this straight," Videl said calmly, "You're telling me that everyone believes that Gohan raped me..."

Erasa nodded

"That Marker, because he's such a nice guy and a student of my father, had tried to save me..."

Once again, Erasa nodded

"And that Gohan beat him, plus 14 other guys, to a bloody pulp and then kidnapped me..."

Another nod

"Then finally, he was suspended? Is that everything?"

The blonde gave one final nod before Videl rose to her feet in anger, "WHY DID THEY SUSPEND HIM?!"

Erasa had seen her friend furious before, but had never faced it herself, so now she was quivering, "Well, they couldn't arrest him because the police said that it was possible that a rape occurred, but they can't really prove a who without some kind of evidence. Since the weapon that was used to cut your clothes is missing and they don't have skill to remove DNA traces from clothing, they couldn't do anything. But he did admit to attacking Marker and his crew, but since they can't determine why, he was only suspended. Sorry."

Videl looked at her like she was crazy and was about to start yelling at her again, but stopped herself. In a situation where very little evidence can be found the police, mostly those of Satan City, will often coordinate with popular opinion.

"You don't have to worry Erasa," she said as she turn away from her friend, "I wasn't raped. And I hope you'll understand that Gohan would never do that to me."

Having said what she needed to, Videl left the school. Originally, she had planned on going about her day, but that was just so she could talk to Gohan and find out what had happened. Apparently that wasn't going to happen and talking to Erasa wasn't going to help her. If it wasn't for the fact that she had hung out with the girl so long and knew a lot about criminal investigation, she would never have really figured out what the blonde was saying. So, if she couldn't get answers from those two, that left only the Police Department.

It took her ten minutes in her jetcopter to get to the building, well, it took that long while going at a cruising speed. The second that she jumped down she was swarmed by the officers she tended to work with. They were all bombarding her with questions about where she was and if she was okay. At the back of the crowd were three people, two of which she knew very well. The short plump man wearing the standard police uniform was the Chief of Police(No one cares about his name). The other man was around Gohan's height with brown messy hair(It looks like Sena's hair from Eyeshield 21) with brown eyes. He wore a standard suit, but over it was a tan colored trench coat. He was the one she walked up to.

"Hello Uncle Belphie," she said with what looked like a smile, but the man was obviously cringing.

"So the little bitch returns," she heard the third man mutter.

Even though she didn't know him that well, she did know who he was. He was Officer Caspers, he was a great officer and apparently despised her because he blamed her for his son's suicide.

The man known as Uncle Belphie immediately glared at him.

"Oh don't worry Belphegor," the officer said turning away, "There's no point in messing with something that's already been used up."

Belphegor was about to charge at him, but was stopped when Videl grabbed him by his arm. He looked down at her and saw that she was shaking her head. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right to stop him. It wouldn't look good for him as the Chief Investigator to get in a fight over something like this. So, he relented and allowed the bastard to walk away unharmed.

He sighed and faced Videl with a smile, "Man, you look more like my little sister every day."

She blushed at being compared to her mother, but was thankful for it. She would prefer looking like her mother than her father any day.

"So, what can we do for you?" he asked.

"Well, you can start by telling me what happened at my school yesterday," she told him directly.

He laughed slightly because he remembered that his "sister" was like that too. There was never really a time to beat around the bush and she would just get straight to the point.

"Well, what happened was...," he said before another officer came outside.

"We've got trouble," he shouted, "The Satan City Office Building has been taken over and the workers on the top floor have been taken hostage."

Belphegor sighed and looked at his "niece", "Feel like helping out?"

She smirked, "Of course, but we will continue our conversation later."

"Deal," he said before she ran back to her jetcopter.

He watch as she rode away on that thing. Normally, he would be calm, but Videl was his "niece" and he hated the fact that she was allowed to do anything dangerous. He had a shouting match with Hercule about it when he heard what she was doing. He was angrier than any time he been before.

His anger reached new heights when he heard that Videl could have been raped and unlike everyone else, he knew Marker was the culprit. The problem was the guy was smart enough to not leave anything to tie him to the crime. Actually, if they could have found the knife he used then everything would be clear, but the damn thing went missing. The investigator cracked a smile as he remembered the young man that he had questioned yesterday. The way he admitted to to brutally beating those 15 boys. He had said it with no emotion, but there was a look of anger in his eyes as they were pushed to the several ambulance cars that awaited them. No doubt, that kid cared about Videl, probably more than he did and definitely more than damn bastard Hercule.

"Please watch out for her," he whispered, "Gohan."

Author's note

Alright, two chapters in one week. I feel good about this one. I am sure a lot of you will think this chapter is too short or too rushed, but I must admit I came up with this last scene last minute. I had originally intended for us to get to up to where we stopped with the original chapter seven, but then I felt that would make the chapter too long for my taste. So, you get this. Before you start wondering what happened between Gohan and the cops, it will be explained either in the next chapter or the one after that depending on how I feel. Also I am going to give you some heads up: We are soon approaching the halfway point of story, which means you will get to read about how I do the buu saga and what exactly led to the distance between Gohan and the rest of the Z- fighters.

Review Responses:

There's not really much I can respond to this time. I'm hoping for better results next time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story

Chapter 9

Videl was nearing the location of the Satan City Office Building. It was a typical fifty story building, but it was the giant statue of her father that made it stand out. Her eye began to twitch slightly at the sight of it. Oh how many times she wished she could blow the damn thing into a billion pieces.

"Videl," she heard a voice come over the intercom, "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm currently above the building," she said, "What's the situation?"

"Unfortunately we don't know," the officer told her, "All we know is that the employees on the top floor have been taken hostage. We don't know how many, nor the number of criminals you'll be fighting. Sorry."

Videl growled as she turned the intercom off. There was absolutely no useful information at all. She was basically going to have to go in blind. Serious, what was up with this city and its stupid ass police force. If her uncle wasn't there she was pretty sure that they would never catch a single criminal. She let out a sigh as she made her descent onto the rooftop. Luckily she had been keeping an ear out for some sign that the citizens had noticed her, but she heard nothing on the radio. That meant with luck she could manage to take them by surprise. While that may not be her usual style, it did bring a slight smile to her face.

"I wouldn't be smiling like that if I were you," she heard a voice call out to her.

Her heart skipped a beat and she remained frozen in her place. There was only one person who ever made her do that.

She tried to control her breathing in order to not seem excited and then turned to face him with her signature smirk, "Well, well, well, if I didn't know any better I would think you were stalking me Gohan?" (By now, we should all know that Gohan tends to show up out of the blue.)

Gohan shrugged, "It's possible. After all, you are very attractive, so stalking you wouldn't be out of the question."

Videl's smirk disappeared as her face turned bright red and she began speaking gibberish. While she was too embarrassed to speak properly, she didn't notice the serious look that had come over Gohan. It was almost as if he was trying to dissect her with his eyes.

When she finally noticed, she stared nervously, "What?"

"Just curious," he said, "What's your relationship to that Belphegor guy?"

Out of all the things that he could have said, that was not one that she was expecting from him.

"He's my uncle," she said inching away from him, but then gave a mischievous grin, "Don't tell me you're jealous of him."

"It wouldn't do to be jealous of a guy I just met," he said blankly, "Besides that's what he told me too."

 _Problem is, you're the only one who was honest when asked,_ he thought, _Is it possible that you really don't know the truth._

Gohan let out a sigh, "Oh well, it's none of my business."

Videl was left confused, but soon straightened herself up, "You said earlier that I shouldn't be smiling, why?"

"Probably because you'd be in real trouble if you got too overconfident," he said, "There are fifty-eight hostages and about 9 armed men. Even you would have trouble dealing with something like that."

The female fighter's eyes widened, "How do you know those are the numbers.?"

"I'm just weird like that," he said smiling.

"You do realize that explanation is pretty lame," she said slouching slightly, "In any case, as long as I have the element of surprise there's no way that those creeps can beat me."

THe half-saiyan then pointed over at the roof entrance, "If you look above that door there is a small camera. What's more is that it's the kind that is usually connected to wireless device. That means the creeps already know you're here."

Videl walked over and sure enough there was a small camera hanging just above the doorframe. She had just lost the one thing that could have given her an advantage. That meant her only option now was a full on assault.

She turned back to Gohan, "Listen, I'm sure that you can handle this all by yourself, but this is my job. So don't you dare interfere!"

Gohan smiled at her confidence and her stubbornness. So for now, he would grant her demand(because let's face it Videl does not make requests).

"Fine," he said.

Videl scowled at him as if to make sure her words would get through, "I mean it Gohan, if you help me in any way then I will not forgive you."

"I got it," he said raising his hands in surrender, "I swear that even if you're about to get yourself killed, I will not come to your aid."

The Satan girl gave a small huff and stormed through the door with Gohan following after her. It surprised Videl that no one was guarding the stairwell, but she guessed that since they already knew she was coming it would have been pointless. Still, it made her feel as if these guys were underestimating her and that was something she could not stand.

Gohan however had already realized something Videl had not. The fact was these guys were not underestimating her at all. They were just being very careful. They made sure to take plenty of hostages to gain attention. Then there's the camera on the no police officers that use jet-copters and the only crime fighter that was known to use one was Videl. That means the criminals were after her specifically. Add in the stronger than average kis he was feeling, then they were probably professional mercenaries.

 _Let's see how you deal with this one Videl._

As they neared the floor the hostages were held on Videl tried to slow down to assess the situation, but her partner apparently had a different idea. So instead he walked out directly into their sights.

"Well, you must be Ms. Videl's partner am I right?" a man sitting on one of the desks asked, "I must admit your appearance has thrown us for a bit of a loop. We had always heard that she worked alone."

This man was the total opposite of his men. They were all built like tractors and their faces made it seem as if they scowl twenty-four/seven. He on the other hand was at least attractive and was more leanly built. More than likely these feature made it easier to deal with clients.

"Don't worry," Gohan said, "You're camera should have already picked up my little deal with Videl. So, I'll just go sit over there."

He indicated a small section to his right and sat atop a desk himself. The mercenary looked at him oddly.

 _How strange,_ he thought, _Not many people react to situations like this with such calmness. Either the kid is stupid or he's been through some serious shit. Not only that, but I usually have no trouble getting a read on someone after talking to them. Yet, this guy is completely unreadable. Who is he?!_

"Hey!" Videl called out to regain the leader's attention, "Let go of those hostages right now and I might just go easy on you."

The man gave a gentle smile, "You heard her men. Release the hostages."

Videl deadpanned. The armed men that had surrounded her went over to the hostages and untied them. They were even nice enough to guide the scared people to the door.

The man laughed slightly at her expression, "I can see that you're confused, but you must understand. We are professionals and so we have our own sense of dignity. If we're caught and arrested after taking out the intended target then there is no problem. However, we're not going to worsen our sentence by committing mass murder."

"That's not a bad way of doing things," Gohan commented.

"Thank you," the man replied genuinely.

Videl had to actually agree. Most people that took hostages didn't care about worsening their sentence. They only cared that they achieved their goals, but apparently there some out there who can be respected.

"Still, this doesn't mean I'll let you win," she declared.

The man smiled, "It wouldn't be that much fun if you did."

He snapped his fingers and in an instant she was surrounded by the other eight men. They formed a large circle around and already had their guns drawn. The man walked to the only opening in the formation and drew his own gun. Every weapon was focused on her and there was no doubt that they were aiming for vital spots.

"Now, let's get this over with shall we," he said pulling the trigger.

A normal human would have been shot down in an instant, but as if by instinct Videl tilted her head to the side. The result being the bullet flying into the wall behind her. As soon as this occurred the other men starting firing at her. Despite the oncoming barrage she was dodging every bullet with incredible ease. The leader had stopped shooting, but the others were continuing. As soon as a magazine was emptied they would reload, but it was only one at a time. That meant Videl had little time to strike. In fact, she shouldn't be able to dodge at all, so how was she doing it?

The so called mastermind was becoming nervous by the minute unaware that their unmoving guest was smiling. It wasn't that hard to figure out what was going on. After all, it was thanks to his instruction that Videl was able to move like this.

(Flashback)

It had only been two weeks since Gohan had soundly defeated Videl and as usual she was coming at him like a wild beast.

"That's not the way to do it," he said while dodging her strikes.

She jumped up to aim a kick at his head, but he ducked underneath and moved behind her. Videl turned quickly and tried for ram her fist into his chest. Unfortunately, her opponent wasn't so cooperative. He turned to the side letting the punch go past him and then kicked at her feet causing her to trip. Gohan grabbed her arm and then flipped her onto her back. The moment she came into contact with the ground he pinned her by her throat.

"If you keep attacking me so wildly like that," he said calmly, "You won't be able to see anything."

"And what you mean by that?" she growled.

"I mean that so far I've been holding back," he told her, "I made sure that I was moving at your pace and my moves have been pretty obvious. If you weren't so blinded by your pride then you'd be able to predict my moves."

Even though she heard that his advice was honest, the fact that he had held back was irritating her. For a solid weak this new kid had been dominating their fights. Sure, she wasn't blind to the fact that he never broke a sweat, but she had hoped that she was at least giving the bastard a challenge.

Gohan removed his hand from her throat and was about to walk out of the ring.

"WAIT!" she called out.

Gohan turned slightly to where he could see her trying to stand up again. She raised her head to make sure they were making eye contact.

"How?" she asked, "How can I learn to read your attacks?"

He was impressed. The only person he knew that had as much pride as this girl would have to be Vegeta. Yet, unlike the arrogant prince, this girl was willing to swallow her pride in order to become a better fighter.

"Before we get to that," he said, "Why haven't you learned how to do so yourself?"

The girl stared into his eyes before proclaiming, "I can do it!" but then she lowered her head in shame as she realized what she was about to say would only sound like an excuse, "It's just that with my style I usually take out my opponent before they can do anything. I guess I'm just a little out of practice."

If anyone else had given him such an answer he would think that they were gloating about being far above others. But that wasn't the case with Videl as she was honestly ashamed to have to give him this answer. So Gohan smiled.

"If we're talking about a competent fighter then you're best strategy would be to learn how their breathing changes with each move," he told her, "However, learning how to do that takes time. So, until then I'll tell you a way to deal with amateurs and even bullets. One part of the body that is always moving would have to be our shoulders. If you can identify how the shoulder moves with attacks then if they aren't that skilled, you'll have no problem dealing with them.

It was obvious that Videl was taking in every bit of his advice, but she was still stumped, "How does this help me deal with people that are armed with guns?"

"Even if it's only a slight movement," he explained, "The shoulder moves with the hand. If you can see this then it shouldn't be hard to to predict an attack that travels in a straight line."

(In case you didn't realize, I'm bullshitting a lot of this. I do not know if this tactic would work, so do not try this at home.)

"Okay, well even if I can predict where they're going going to shoot," she replied with a skeptical look, "That doesn't help as far as the speed is concerned."

Before she even knew he had move Gohan's fist had just passed by her head.

"Leave that to me," he said as he retracted his fist.

(End of Flashback)

Within three weeks she had picked up on the method and though she was unable to dodge him consciously. Her body had learned to move by instinct and now it would appear that she's learned how to rely on those instincts.

"Okay Videl, show me just how far you've come," he said to himself.

She was still moving in between the spray of bullets that were coming after her, but that didn't mean she wasn't learning a few things. First of all, they were all well positioned so that even though their bullets were missing her, their comrades wouldn't get shot as well. Then their was the interval in which they had reload their guns. Each person had to do it within the same amount of time each time. Every fifteen seconds someone had to reload and then they would reload again after about three minutes. Within the time span that they are reloading is most definitely the best time to attack. It's practically the only moment in which nothing comes from that direction and leaves a massive opening for attack. She just had to pick her moment and it was soon handed to her. She chose the first person who had to reload and the second he started to reload his gun Videl closed in. In the blink of an eye she was in front of him and driving her fist into his abdomen. When the two adjacent men tried to aim at her she gave to the one on her right a spinning heel kick. Then she quickly lunged to her left and punched him into a wall.

Both the leader's and Gohan's eyes widened slightly, but the half-saiyan's surprise turned into a smile. A normal human wouldn't have realized it, hell, Videl herself probably hadn't realized what was going on. It was slow, but the longer the battle was going on the stronger her ki was becoming. This sudden increase in ki was also affecting her physical capability, making her both stronger and faster.

"I knew this would happen after last time," Gohan said to himself, still smirking slightly, "But I had no idea it would progress this quickly.

The second a gun was turned on her Videl would immediately react and attack before the mercenary could pull the trigger. This quick reaction would have stunned most people into being unable to do anything. But even Gohan could see that the mercenary leader was easily figuring out how Videl chose her targets and that meant she was in trouble. Other than the leader there was only one man left and it it didn't take long for her to pin him. However, before the unconscious mercenary cold hit the ground Videl was sent to the ground herself.

"Have you finally calmed down?" the leader asked.

The crime fighter struggled to lift herself up enough to see what had happened. The second she hit the ground her body was overcome with exhaustion, but she was unable to understand why? Just a second ago she had felt so much power coursing through her and now it was gone. As she tried to lift herself up, there was an unbearable pain pain coming from her right shoulder. When she collapsed back to the ground she took the liberty to reach for the spot the pain was coming from and it felt wet. Videl looked at the substance that covered her fingers was blood.

"You seem surprised," the leader said, "Is this the first time that you've seen your own blood?"

Then she saw it, the gun he had been holding was extended towards her. So that's what had happened: She had been shot.

"You know it really is hard to say whether you're lucky or unlucky," he said, "You see this gun contains several modified bullets. Each one with a different destructive and penetrating force. Fortunately for you that bullet couldn't go all the way through, but that also why you are unlucky. After all, it's still inside of your shoulder. Meaning, the more you move the more it tears through your muscle."

"Why?" she asked as her breathing became unstable, "If you guys are mercenaries then that means someone hired you. Who?"

 _Smart, she noticed the overconfidence in that man's voice,_ Gohan thought with a smirk, _So she's using her current condition to not only gain information, but also time to get back some of her strength_

"I believe he went by the name Caspers," the man said, "I don't really know why he hired us, but I must thank him. I mean, do you know how much more we can charge people when they hear that we've defeated one of the great Satans?"

 _CASPERS!_ She thought, _Is that idiot still blaming me for his son's suicide?_

The leader extended his arm once again and this time he aimed where he was sure her heart was. Even if the bullet didn't go straight through her, at the very least it may puncture her aorta causing her to bleed out.

Videl's breathing began to even out as she tried to stand up, surprising the mercenary leader. A slight blue glow began to surround her and when she turned to face him this same glow could be seen in her eyes.

"Kill or be killed," she muttered to herself, "So, this is what it's like to make this decision. I didn't want it to come to this, but there is no way that I'm dying here."

The moment Videl clenched her fist the aura dispersed and then converged back around her fist creating a large blue sphere. The man's eyes widened, but he couldn't understand where his fear was coming from. The last time he felt this afraid was when he was a kid and the Demon King Piccolo had taken over everything. The man was trembling with his gun in hand to the point where it was obvious that he would miss.

"TAKE THIS!" Videl yelled out as she lunged forward.

The female fighter's fist was about to land on his face, but someone's hand intercepted her attack just inches in front of it. The mercenary then found himself being sent flying onto his back. The aura that was once so bright vanished and with it the last of Videl's strength. As hard as she tried she just wasn't able to remain standing and collapsed.

"What are you doing?" she asked, "Gohan, you promised that you wouldn't interfere."

The desk where Gohan had sat was now vacant as he stood in between the two combatants.

He let go of her fist and turned away from her, "No, I said I wouldn't save you and I didn't. The person I saved was that idiot on the ground over there. If your punch had landed, it would have killed him."

Videl glared at him and growled, "So what? Aren't you the one who said I needed to learn to make that decision: Kill or be killed. So tell me, why stop me now?"

Even though Videl couldn't see, Gohan's face had become somewhat gentler compared to usual, "That's true."

Videl was about to say something else, but was quickly interrupted.

"But I don't recall ever saying that I would allow you to spill blood," he said with a harsh tone, "I don't care how many lives I'll have to take to keep other safe, but I won't let you carry that burden."

Gohan finally focused all of his attention on the quivering man. Ever since Gohan had entered into the fray he had become unable to properly hold his gun. This worse than when he faced the little girl. This young man was far more terrifying than even the late demon king.

"What do you want from me?" he asked trying to stay standing.

The half-saiyan flashed a smile, " I just wanted to thank you for teaching my friend here a valuable lesson. So, I want to give you a nice little gift and that is: I'll let you live."

Gohan extended his arm and made a gun gesture as if he were a little kid. A small yellow orb formed at his fingertip(Hello Spirit Gun).

He smirked as he said, "Bang."

The orb disappeared in a flash and before anyone knew it, the mercenaries arm had been utterly destroyed all the way up to his shoulder. Then there was a humongous hole that had been formed in the wall behind him. As the sense of pain finally dawned on him, the mercenary leader let out a terrible scream that was almost inhuman.

"What a baby," Gohan said with a deadpanned expression.

He turned his attention back to the fallen crime fighter. Kneeling down next to her, he placed his hand on her right shoulder.

"This is going to sting a little bit," he told her gently.

The palm of his hand began emitting a small white light and as he told her, she felt some pain. She had no idea what he was doing to her, but when he removed his hand she noticed a looseness in her shoulder.

"I used my ki to disintegrate the bullet inside your shoulder so you should be fine," he told her.

"Ki?" she questioned.

"I'll explain some other time, but not when you're expecting company," he said.

The half-saiyan walked to one of the desks and pulled out a pen and piece of paper. After writing something down, he handed it to Videl. On the paper was a set of coordinates for wasteland area that had absolutely no civilization. She looked up at him in confusion.

"Meet me at those coordinates when you're ready," he said, "Good luck until then.  
He walked to the hole in the wall as a white flame-like aura erupted from his body. With a single lunge he pushed himself forward and was flying far from her sight.

Videl was left wide-eyed, "He...can... fly?"

Author's Note

Letting you know I made some slight alterations to the end of the last chapter, but nothing too obvious, so you don't have to go back and read it. In reality it was just a few words that I fixed. Anyways,I'm sure a lot of you guys can easily figure out what's going on with Videl and Belphegor, but I needed it for a reason that I will explain after the next chapter.

So, as you can see not all of Gohan's personality has changed over the years and we get to see how far he is willing to go for Videl. That's about all I've got this week.

By the way there is a small alteration to my story that you would not have guessed is a change, but it is. There will also be a oneshot to go with this change.

Review Responses:

 **Critic** : Your comment actually gave me an idea for this story that could be fun


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

Chapter 10

"He...can...fly?" she said her eyes widening in disbelief.

Gohan was already an impossible puzzle, but now apparently the guy had superpowers. Not just any superpowers either, it was the same powers that those people from the Cell Games used. But that wasn't possible, her father said those were only tricks and yet...

Videl observed the destruction that was before her, "There is no way that a trick could have done all this."

Was it possible that her father knew these weren't tricks and was trying to cover it up, but why would he need to do that. Unless...

She began to tremble at the thought, "He didn't beat Cell."

"VIDEL!" she heard someone scream.

She turned to see her uncle bursting from the stairwell and running straight to her side. The concern he had for her was evident. The crime fighter smiled up at him, but it did nothing to dissipate the worried look on his face. He could see the blood on her right shoulder and it only made him tighten his fist and his face twisted into snarling expression. He was about to ask her what happened...

"You failure," he heard someone roar, "Some mercenaries, you couldn't even take out one little girl. I practically handed her to you."

Belphegor turned around to see Officer Caspers kicking at the now one-armed mercenary. The Chief Investigator took a deep breath and then his face became neutral. The other officers who had showed up started backing away from him. They knew one thing, that Belphegor when he didn't show his anger, was a lot scarier than when he did.

"Caspers," he said softly, but it still caught the officer's attention, "Are you telling me that you're responsible for this."

The officer scoffed, "Yeah, I hired these men to kill the little bitch for me. Looks like I wasted my money."

The entire time Belphegor kept up his poker face and seemingly without emotion he asked, "Why?"

"For revenge," the officer shouted, "My son was an astounding fighter with a future. Not once did he lose a match, that is until he fought her. After that he committed suicide and it's all that bitch's fault!"

Videl's eyes widened once again in disbelief, but not because she was thinking that it was her fault. It was in disbelief of the fact this man was so ignorant of his own son's pain.

"You asshole!" she yelled, "You have no idea what your son was really like do you?"

"Shut up," he said, "I knew my son better than anyone."

Videl stood up finally to make sure her point would come across, "No, you didn't. Penn was a great fighter, that much I know. Of all the fights I had he was by far the most challenging opponent to face. He trained hard and fought as many people as he could to become stronger, but it was never for himself. He did all for you; He did it so you would be proud of him."

"I said shut up," he yelled as he quickly drew his gun, but his aim was somewhat shaky.

"You can't hit me with that," she told him with confidence," Because you know that what I'm saying is true. You were always talking about him as long as he was winning. I remember seeing the two you and being so jealous. A happy parent-child relationship that I haven't experienced since my mother passed. It was because I was so used to seeing that scene that I noticed when it changed."

"If you don't stop talking now, I'm going to shoot you," the officer threatened.

But Videl did not back down, "The day after he challenged me and lost was when everything went wrong. I saw how he tried to speak to you, but you always brushed him off. You didn't even try to reach out to your own son. You abandoned him left him to die."

Caspers pulled the trigger, but Videl did not falter and stood where she was. The bullet only barely grazed her cheek. The second he had fired his gun off, he realized one big mistake. He had shot Videl in the presence of Belphegor. The Chief Investigator had already moved in by the time he realized this. He easily disarmed the officer and then flipped him over his back. Ending it by slamming him face first into the ground and then putting Caspers own gun to his head.

"You make one move and I'll shoot," he told the officer.

Videl could not believe what she was seeing now. Her uncle was usually such a pacifistic man, but right now he seemed as violent as a wild beast.

"You know, what makes you a truly terrible person," Belphegor said, "Is that you abandoned your son when he needed you. That's the worst mistake that any parent could make."

Belphegor called for the other officers to start rounding up all of the criminals and they all did as ordered. The nine mercenaries and Caspers were more than likely going to face some serious charges. While one officer interrogated her, her uncle wrapped up her shoulder. He had been astounded. It was obvious that she was shot, but there was no exit wound nor was there any trace of the bullet. However, despite being busy with that he paid close attention to reactions to the questions. He noticed that she tensed when asked about how this destruction came about. It was obvious she knew what had happened and normally she would have answered honestly, but she lied when she claimed a bomb had done this.

It was believable in a way. Anyone would believe that some kind of explosive must have been used to do all this. Videl hated to lie about it, but there was no way these guys would believe that someone did all this with a laser blast from his finger. Hell, she still couldn't believe it. More than that though, was it possible that her father could have lied to the world, but more importantly could have lied to her. If so, then what else did he lie about.

"Videl," Belphegor said softly, "Come on, I'll take you home."

Without saying much she followed him out of the building and to his police cruiser. The sun had begun to set and for some reason it felt off. Belphegor watched Videl and could see that something was bothering her. Not that he could blame her. In just two days she had faced many terrifying situations and tonight he may just end up shattering her world. Perhaps that was the reason the sunset had felt off, the scarlet that danced across the sky was almost foretelling the dangers of the future.

Videl stared out at the city as they drove through the city. She watched as the sun finally disappeared and night had fallen by the time they had reached her home. Even in a neighborhood with big houses, it was easy to distinguish which one was hers. It was the only one with a huge statue of her dad. Her uncle pulled up to the stairs that led to the front door and even walked her up to it. She hadn't noticed it before, but her uncle was acting strange for some reason. His eyes were still reflecting the same anger that they had when he confronted Caspers. She was about to ask him what was wrong when a limo drove up behind them.

Videl let out a sigh, "Great, he was out again."

From the limo emerged a well-muscled short man with a big black afro and moustache. With him were two skimpily dressed women.

"Oh Hercy, you're so strong," one giggled.

"Don't I know it," he said posing and flexing his muscles.

Videl wanted to go down there and smack him right across the face. While she was facing down mercenaries he was out partying without a care in the world. She growled slightly which caught the attention of Hercule.

"Hey Videl, did you have a good day today?" he said waving to her.

"No Mark, she didn't," Belphegor said coldly.

THe two women were confused, but both Videl and Hercule went wide-eyed. The only time her uncle ever used her dad's real name was when he was mad at him. Even if she was mad at him too, why was he?

"If you must know," Belphegor continued, "Your daughter just spent her day fighting skilled mercenaries and had managed to get herself shot."

Hercule simply brushed off his words saying, "Oh come on, she's obviously fine. After all she is a Satan. Not only that, but can you imagine how famous she'll get once people hear about this. Then as the person who trained her, I'll get even more fame as well."

There it was again. Whenever she managed to do something, no one ever truly congratulated her for it. All they ever said was that it was expected from the daughter of Mr. Satan.

Her uncle let out a sigh before turning to her, "Videl, you should go to your room for a little bit. I have some things I would like to discuss with Mark."

Okay, this was definitely weird. Not as weird as what she saw Gohan do, but still. She did as she was told and went up to her room. She laid in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Videl could only think about all the things that happened to her today. The fact that Gohan could was a big surprise considering she had always wanted to do it since she saw the people at the Cell Games. She actually chuckled a bit when she realized that him being able to fly would explain how he had been up on the roof after she had arrived. If she hadn't been so excited to see she would have questioned it.

"Are you ever going to make sense to me?" she asked herself.

Yet again she smiled as she thought that Gohan would probably have given her a smartass response. Probably saying something like, "Not unless you want me to." No, that would be too cheesy even for him. He would probably just smirk and turn away from her. Videl turned over to her side and came to face her bedside drawer.

"Now that I think about," she said, "I still haven't opened that box that he gave me."

The crime fighter reached inside and pulled out a small plain box with a red ribbon wrapped around it. Videl carefully undid the ribbon, but then allowed it to fall to the floor. She was surprised by what she found inside. It was a black cord necklace with a pupil sized orb as the pendant. The orb was a vibrant blue, but the odd thing was that it wasn't as if the pendant itself was blue. It looked like small blue stars were dancing inside of it and making it shine. While Videl wasn't one for jewelry even she had to admit that it was truly beautiful.

She looked towards her door as if trying to confirm that no one was coming, "I suppose it's not gonna kill me to wear it for a second."

She laughed slightly as she put it on, but was surprised by what she could feel when she did. There a slight beat, almost like a heartbeat coming from it. Both her heart and this one were beating in sync with each other. Why was this beat so warm? So comforting? And familiar?

"Gohan," she whispered.

Her eyes widened now. Sure, he had been the one who gave it to her, but why would she consider someone like him as warm and comforting. If anything he was cold and heartless.

"That's right," she told herself, but she was unable to ignore the pain she felt as she spoke each word, "He is cruel, malicious, sadistic, and a downright asshole. I would never consider him as anything else."

She let out a sigh and looked up at her clock. It had been thirty minutes since she had come up here, surely her uncle had finished arguing with her father. Videl then looked out the window and could see his police cruiser still outside.

"I'd better hurry or I'll miss him," she said racing from her room.

She needed to talk to him, to tell him what really happened today. She needed to know what he thought about her father's claim of having defeated Cell. What she didn't know is that she was about to discover another lie that had been told her whole life.

(Just after Videl had left for her room)

Belphegor was still standing at the top of the stairs. He stared Hercule down with a cold gaze that would make anyone freeze in their tracks. To say he was angry would be an understatement. Videl had been shot, she could have died and this idiot only thought about how he could gain more fame. That had settled it. He already knew it was a mistake to leave both Selena and Videl in his care, but his biggest mistake was when he allowed his guilt to take over. When he allowed Hercule to keep Videl.

"You ladies should leave," he said to Hercule's company, then refocused his attention, "As for you Mark, I want to see you in gym. You've got fifteen minutes and don't even think of running away. You should know I've got plenty of patience."

Leaving the frightened Hercule he headed towards the idiot's private gym. Inside there was your basic weight lifting equipment, but in the center was a small arena similar to what could be found at the WMAT. Belphegor stood in its center and waited for his opponent to arrive. Just as he expected though, Hercule took almost half an hour to finally show up. He was probably hoping that for once Belphegor would decide that the wait wasn't worth it, but that was not the case. In fact, he felt that that every minute was worth it. He needed for Hercule to understand what was going on.

"So, uh...what is this about?" Hercule asked.

"What this is about is that I'm rectifying my mistake," he said, "I'm going to the courthouse tomorrow and I'm taking custody of Videl."

"WHAT!" Hercule yelled, "You can't do that...she's..."

Before he could get another word out Belphegor had kicked him in the face, "Let me guess, you were going to say that she was all you had of Selena. That's a pathetic excuse. I allowed Videl to stay with you because I felt guilty. I felt like I had taken away any chance that Selena and you would be happy. To make up for that I abandoned Videl."

Hercule held his bleeding nose as he tried to stand up, "Look Belphegor, there's no reason to be hasty about this. I've done great as Videl's father. She'll want to stay with me."

This time Belphegor back-handed the oaf and sent him back to the ground, "Oh really, I don't recall ever seeing you whenever Videl had a school play, or family days. No, it was always Selena and I that showed up. Things only got worse after you lied about beating Cell."

That's right, he knew. It wasn't hard to figure out that Hercule was a phony. After all his stepfather was a martial arts expert and had told him all about ki. He even managed to learn how use it to increase his physical ability. Thanks to that he managed recognize the abilities of the fighters from the Cell Games. It was another thing he despised Hercule for, mostly because he worried what Videl would do when she discovered the truth.

"You're never around for her," he said with ice in his voice, "Every time I see her she has an empty look in her eyes. I'm happy that she loses that look when she's with me. Perhaps because unlike you I showed the grief when Selena passed. Or maybe because I was truly there for her. But I was never as happy to see her as I am now. Lately, she's been more lively. She looks so much like her mother that it hurts and I know that I have that Gohan to thank."

It was just after he showed up that Videl started becoming more emotional. At first she seemed to despise him, but he could hear it in her voice. Beneath all the anger, there was an admiration of his fighting abilities. Lately though there was something else. When she showed up at the department wondering what had happened to him there was genuine concern. Somehow, Gohan had made crack in Videl's invincible armor. Now the only question was if Videl could do the same for him. Even if he only met the kid once, it was obvious that he had been through a lot and more than likely didn't want to get close to anyone.

"That kid has stood by Videl's side whenever she was in trouble," Belphegor growled, "That made me realize that she was growing up and soon she would be leaving. So, before that happens I'm going to correct my mistake. That means I'm taking my daughter back!"

He walked past the champ who had tried to cling to his coat, "Please wait..."

But he didn't, he brushed Hercule off of him and exited into the hall. Once there he let out a sigh and when he turned to the left his breath was taken away. Just not in a good way. Videl, his daughter, was standing there with tears in her eyes. It was obvious that she wanted him to explain. She wanted him to say that she hadn't heard what she had, but he couldn't and she knew it. When he tried to reach out to her; she ran.

Author's Note

Alright, this was the epic change I made. I realized I needed to have a real reason for Videl to seek Gohan out other than just curiosity and this is what I came up with. I mentioned last time there would be a oneshot about this and there will. It will basically explain the relationship between Selena and Belphegor, so look forward to that.

Now, I'm sure a lot of you are thinking this is going too fast, but it was kind of hard to pace a chapter where so little happen and yet expand it to where it wasn't too short. Still, I hope you enjoy it.

 **Warning:** From now if you leave a review that simply says awesome chapter or it was great, it will be deleted. If you like a chapter, tell me what it was that you liked about.

 **Review Responses-**

 **Critic** : I wouldn't say that they make a mistake. I think it's just that when they reach a certain point in their story the other characters lose their importance. Or at least that's what happened in this story. I'm pretty sure that I'll give Erasa and Sharpner maybe three more appearances, but it won't be until much later. As for having their love tested, it would be kind of hard with both characters having this can't be loved personality. Then if you add in Gohan's struggles which I have not elaborated on just yet. That on its own is practically their test. Hell, they won't even get together until the near end of the story.

 **Random:** I have mentioned before that grammar is not one of my strong suits and this laptop makes it harder because it doesn't allow me to scroll up easily. This results in me accidently skipping over mistakes. Also, the aorta is an artery that carries oxygenated blood. I don't know anything about it being a part of the nipple.

 **Guest:** Sorry to say, but I have no plans for them to be using the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Main reason being that if you didn't realize, Gohan is avoiding all of the Z fighters and anyone from his past. This is for reasons that have yet to be explained. Also, Gohan has already been teaching her how to dodge.

 **Anonymous:** Don't worry Gohan's back story will be revealed soon enough. It should be within the next possible eight chapters. I hope

 **WineIXI:** I thank you for the analysis of Gohan and Videl's relationship. Also, isn't 10/110 pretty sucky. Oh well, you are allowed your own opinion. Though I'm pretty sure you accidently pressed the 1 button twice.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

Chapter 11

She couldn't believe it. Her entire life, out of all the people that she trusted, she would never expected it from him. Her uncle, no her father apparently, the man that she felt would never deceive her; he had lied to her since day one. She had gone to talk to him about who he thought may have defeated Cell and she discovered two big secrets. The first being that her father, or Hercule rather, had indeed lied about defeating Cell. Sure she could get over that one eventually, but it was what she learned after that. When Belphegor was getting angry mentioning some kind of mistake she had no idea what he was talking about. Then he let it out. She was his daughter. That didn't make sense. He was her mother's older brother. How could he be her father. The answers would never come.

When he confronted her outside of the gym she wanted to ask him. She wanted him to explain; to tell her the truth. But she couldn't, her tears wouldn't let her. So when she saw him she could only let her tears fall and stare. He had tried to reach out to her, but she was afraid. She feared being touched by someone she had trusted, by someone who had betrayed her. To not feel that touch, she did the only thing she could think of; she ran. Now, here she was flying her jet-copter to who knows where. The second she had decapsulized her vehicle she programmed the coordinates that Gohan had given her. It had been at least three hours since she had left the edge of Satan City and as far as she knew she still had a few hours left before she would arrive.

"What kind of person lives out here?" she asked herself.

Still, she could see the attraction of living out here. It was quiet and without many people. Videl chuckled slightly as she realized the answer to her own question. Gohan wasn't much of a people person anyways. So living out here where he didn't have to interact with many people was probably ideal for him. The hours ticked on by and soon she came across the plateau covered wasteland. Even though she was high up, she could make out a small figure standing in the opening.

Videl sighed and descended towards the figure and just as she thought it was Gohan. Even with the wind from her descent whipping against him he did not flinch. He stared at her with what seemed to be concern. She took a deep breath and exited her jet-copter.

"Bet you didn't expect me so soon?" she said jokingly.

Gohan turned away from her and started walking away, but stopped after a few steps, "Come on. We can talk inside."

At first she was confused as to where inside meant, but then noticed that one of the plateaus had a cave. Once she got closer to it she realized that there was a small capsule house inside of it.

"So, this is where you live?" she asked nervously.

"Do you see anyone else living around here?" he shot back.

Videl sweatdropped, but chose not to reply. She wasn't the least bit surprised when she finally entered his home. The living room had a simple couch, coffee table and tv. Other than that he didn't really have anything as far as interior decorating.

"Sit," he instructed.

She sat down on the couch and was surprised to find a cup of tea already set out. She picked up the cup and found that it was warm.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

"No, it's just that this setup makes me think you were expecting me," she said laughing slightly.

Gohan cracked a smile. Not because it was humorous, but because she was right. He had no idea what had happened to her, but he had been keeping track of her ki since he left the city. At first her ki had remained stable, after a few hours it changed. Something had caused her emotions to run rampant for a little while. Compared to when this change occurred she seemed calm, but her ki signature was still fluctuating too much. Based on what he could sense from her ki Videl was confused, afraid, and nervous all at the same time.

"Hmm, who knows maybe I'm psychic," he said with a grin.

"Yeah," she said with a light laugh.

Though it didn't really sound like a laugh, but more like a small puff of air. Well, that obviously meant she wasn't in any mood for jokes. Then again, who could blame her considering it was almost three o'clock in the morning. Still, knowing Videl she would have too much pride to ask; especially when she was basically using him to escape her problems.

Gohan let out a small sigh and leaned against the wall(Just think of him standing like Piccolo or Vegeta at a party), "Look, I won't pry and I won't demand you tell me what's wrong. However, I will be here to listen when you're ready."

Videl's eyes widened. He was able to easily see through her and normally she would deny that something was wrong. But, she couldn't. Her entire world had just been shaken to its core and right now he was the only person she could lean on. It was actually kind of funny in a way. For months she spent every day hating him and now she trusted him with ,well, anything really.

"Thanks," she said with barely a grin, but then her face became solemn again, "But what am I going to do?"

"About what?" he asked slightly confused.

"I basically ran away," she told him, "And there's no way I can face them right now."

"That's easy," he said, "You can just stay here for a while."

Now that shocked Videl more than anything else. Gohan was actually inviting her to live in the same house as him. She had to have heard him wrong. Yeah, that's it!

"I'm sorry Gohan, but I think I misheard you," she told him with a guilty expression, "It sounded like you were offering me a place to stay."

"That's because I did," he said causing Videl to give him a stunned expression, "Besides, you chose to come here for a reason right? After all, you could have easily gone to Erasa's house. Though there would have two problems. One being that both Mr. Satan and Belphegor know where she lives and would have already guessed you went there. The second is that she would want to know what had happened. Whether you wanted to tell her or not she would keep prying. That's why you came here, you needed someone who wasn't actually going to care about your problems."

Videl looked down at her cup of tea to see her reflection in the liquid. Once again Gohan showed that he knew more about her than she did. She didn't know why she had come here and yet, everything that he said struck a chord with her. He was right, Erasa was the type of person that had to know when something was going on. As much as she loved the blonde girl, Videl just couldn't deal with her. Not right now.

"If you're okay with it," she said, "Then I'll take you up on that offer."

A gentle smile flashed across his face, but it was soon replaced by a serious expression, "Then I better clear something up. You won't be living here as a mere guest, but also as my student."

Videl blinked in confusion, "What do you mean by student?"

"Exactly as it sounded," he said matter of factly, "Starting tomorrow I'll be training you in the ways of not only ki control, but in normal martial arts as well."

"You're kidding right?" she said slightly afraid.

After all, this is the same guy that can apparently blow away half of someone's body with just his finger. Unfortunately, she could see in his eyes that he was dead serious.

"Not at all," he said with a smirk, "If I don't teach you how to control your power you'll end up either killing someone or even yourself. Now, go get some rest."

"Um, where exactly do I sleep?" she asked.

Gohan pointed to a stairwell, "The entire second floor is the bedroom, there's only the one bed, but you can use it.

She quickly stood up, "No! I mean, I don't want to impose. You can sleep in your bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

Gohan smiled, but there was obviously some ill intentions, "Well, we seem to having a problem. We both want the other person to take the bed, so how about we share?"

Videl's face immediately turned red and he noticed.

He walked to her side and leaned in close to whisper, "But if we do, I may not be able to hold myself back."

By this point everyone's favorite crime fighter's face was so red it could put a tomato to shame.

"Now, if you really don't want to impose," he said, "You will take the bed tonight. Then later I'll head into the city later to get a two bedroom capsule house. After that, we can worry about getting you some stuff for while you're here."

She wanted to fight back. She wanted to defy him, but his voice didn't leave much room to do so. He wasn't requesting anything of her. He was telling her how things were going to go down. Add in the fact that this was his house she didn't really have a legitimate reason to go against him.

"Fine," she submitted.

"Then have nice night," he said distancing himself from her.

Videl went up the stairs leaving Gohan to his thoughts. He rubbed his eyes a bit, but not due to sleep. Rather it was in annoyance though not for Videl. He was annoyed with himself.

"You really are an idiot Gohan," he mumbled to himself, "If you let her get too close, you really may not be able to help yourself. If she gets too close then she'll only get hurt. Just like they did."

Gohan collapsed onto the couch and let sleep take him even if it was only for a little bit.

(9 hours later)

Of the two, Gohan was the first to awaken which worked for him just fine. It was obvious that Videl had gotten no sleep since he left her yesterday. He on the other hand had at least managed to get a few before she arrived. At least this gave him time to run the errands he had told Videl about before he sent her to bed. So right now he was in West City. It didn't take him long to really find a capsule house. In fact he had found it over two hours ago, but right now he was gathering information. Or to be more exact he was trying to see if any information had been leaked. However, he had come to find that Videl's disappearance had not gone public most likely to keep civil order. After all, she was the city's peace keeper. If news that she had vanished got out then every criminal hiding in the shadows would come out to party.

"I guess these cops aren't as dumb as I thought," he said to himself.

Or rather at least one of them wasn't. That one was his main reason for coming to this city. While it was true that he had promised Videl that he wouldn't pry into her situation, he had a suspicion as to what had caused. Or rather who had caused it. Gohan could have easily gotten to the Police Department HQ within seconds, but he had to admit he enjoyed the sights. He had many memories of his mother and Bulma making him carry their bags when they went out shopping. He could actually see the three of them walking through these same streets. Bulma trying to pick out clothes for him; His mother trying to figure out what textbooks he needed. Gohan was not frozen in place. His face had been darkened by a shadow and his hand was trembling.

 _You need to stop thinking about it,_ he thought, _The past is in the past. You have no ties to it. You have no ties to them. Just forget about all of it. All of it_

"Gohan?" a voice called out to him and brought him from his trance.

The half-saiyan turned around and found that it was Belphegor, the man he was looking for, that had called out to him. He looked disheveled, more than likely he hadn't slept any. His face was covered in sweat and his eyes filled with fear.

"Oh hey," he said solemnly, "Man you look pretty bad."

Belphegor laughed a bit, but maintained a sad look, "Yeah, I just came from talking to that Erasa girl. She was one of Videl's friends, though I guess you know that since you went to school with her."

"Yeah," Gohan said.

"Listen, Videl kind of ran away last night," he told him, "She overheard me say some things and well...

"So basically you screwed up," Gohan said bluntly.

Belphegor looked up at him stunned, but he couldn't deny it.

"Letting your emotions get control of you was a mistake," he continued, "Besides, what's the point of telling her you're her father when all you're going to do is hurt her."

Belphegor's eyes widened. His body tensed up in fear. He looked around to make sure no one was really listening to their conversation, but it was obvious that no one cared.

He let out a sigh, "So she told you, huh?

"She didn't have to," he said, "You may not have realized this, but I'm capable of sensing ki. Meaning I figured it out the moment I met you back at the school.

Belphegor chuckled a little bit. He had tried to hide it from everyone and now he had been figured out just because he met this kid once. He let out a sigh, but his expression became slightly hopeful.

"I guess that means she's with you then?" he asked.

"Yeah, in fact that's why I came back to the city today," Gohan explained, "She'll be staying with me until she's ready to face you and Mr. Satan. So until then, I think it's best if the two you keep your distance."

The chief investigator smiled slightly, "Thanks for the advice. I think I'll take you up on it too. After all, I've already seen what happens to guys that hurt the girl you love."

His smile quickly dissipated when he saw Gohan's expression. Gohan's eyes had widened. His body had started trembling slightly almost if he was having some kind of fit.

"Are you okay?" he asked

Gohan reached up to his head and covered his face, "Yeah, I'm fine, but I think you have the wrong idea about my feelings for Videl.

"No, what I think," Belphegor said, "Is that you're trying to lie to yourself. You want to believe that you aren't in love, but you've already accepted you are. You do it to punish yourself. You do it out of fear that you'll end up hurting those around you."

Belphegor placed his hand on Gohan's shoulder, "Thanks for letting me know she's okay. That has helped me more than you can believe. And since, we both care for her then I have to ask that you stop hurting yourself. Cause in the end you'll end up hurting her too. Like I did."

Belphegor walked on past him leaving Gohan frozen in that spot. He wished it were that simple. He wished it was as simple as allowing himself to love her, but he couldn't. Because the moment he does, she would face pain far greater than she ever had before. Then he would be left again and this time he doubted he would recover.

"Videl," he said to himself, "You may truly be the death of me."

Author's note

Yeah, this is a relatively short chapter, but I didn't really have a way of dragging this one out. Now, I would like for people to know that the pace of the story is about to pick up. This mostly because we will start Videl's training in the next chapter as well as the Majin Buu Arc. That also means that plot wise we are entering the halfway point of the story. Now this does not mean that this is the literal middle of the story. It may last quite a few more chapters than I had previously thought. Hell, it's already longer than I expected. To be honest, I had expected to start the Buu arc a couple chapters ago, but it didn't happen. Who knows, we may have almost thirty chapters.

Okay, I'm pretty sure that some of you who follow this story also follow my other two. I'm here to tell you that it will be a while before I get back them. I decided that I want to focus on this story for a little while and try to complete it for at least two reasons. One, this story is getting pretty close to being finished. Two, the others are a lot longer since they will cover the whole DBZ storyline, therefore I have less pressure about the how the chapters will be.

Now, onto business: Since we're hitting the halfway point I have put up a poll for what story will replace this one after it has finished. For the summaries you can check out my profile and the list will be there. The only one that isn't up for vote is the last one on the list that doesn't really have a title. The Poll will last for the remainder of the story. So take your time to decide.

-Review responses-

 **Randamwriter:** Thanks, now as you can see there really isn't going to be any real fighting for her for a few reasons. One, as you can see Belphegor trusts Gohan and believes that Videl will return with time. Two, Mr. Satan is pretty bad with these kinds of situations and easily cracks under pressure. However, they will all make up later due to certain circumstances.

 **dbzfan the first:** I really appreciate that.

 **guest:** I would like to state that while there are characters that I don't like; I don't bash a character unless it works in the story. In this case there wasn't really any bashing. Let's face it Mr. Satan is the kind of person that gets so caught up in his fame that sometimes he can come across as insensitive. This insensitivity was enough to piss of Belphegor. The fact was I wanted to create a realistic scene between these two using what I knew of their personalities. With their emotions going out of control, some things were said that certainly makes Hercule out as unlikeable. However, that is something that often happens in an argument. Anyways, as I stated in Randamwriter's review response they will make up later.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

Don't forget to place your vote on the story to replace this one after it has finished.

Chapter 12

(The Next Day)

The two of them stood opposite of each other in the middle of the wasteland. Videl was going over the stretches that she had learned, but her eyes never left Gohan's form. It irritated her to a degree to see that even when he was just standing there wasn't a single unguarded spot. It shouldn't be possible for even an experienced master to be able to guard themselves so easily when they were relaxed. Unless, he wasn't relaxed at all. That didn't make sense though. What on Earth could make him keep his guard constantly.

Videl let out a sigh trying to forget her train of thoughts, "So, what exactly are we doing? I mean, it's not like I'm not used to getting up early, but why are we standing out here like this? Are we going to go running or something?"

Gohan, who had been looking elsewhere, turned his attention to Videl, "Not at all. Having you perform something like that sounds more or less like my father's mentor's style of training. Instead, I'll training you using the Demon School method."

Videl deadpanned, but became slightly nervous, "Demon School?"

"That's right," Gohan assure her, "Though, since you already know some martial arts to begin with; we can skip to the actual training."

Videl didn't think anything of it really, but she was curious what part of the lesson were they skipping. The way he said it made it obvious that it was mostly for beginners, but at the same time his tone was saying that she was actually unlucky.

"Now, here's what our schedule will be like for a little while," he said, "Every morning until lunch we'll only be sparring. This will allow you to improve your physical ability, but it will also make things a bit more difficult. In the afternoon, we'll work on your ki manipulation until nightfall."

Videl's eyes widened, "So, we'll be training for the whole day? Don't you think that's a bit excessive?"

"Not really," he told her, "In fact, if you had already known how to use your ki then I'd have us doing full day spars. Now, let's get this started."

Videl took a fighting stance while Gohan stood with his hand in his pockets. The wind began to pick up causing their hair to whip wildly. Though Videl's was more noticeable since her's was so long. After a few minutes the wind began to die down and the moment that it stopped completely, the spar began.

Videl blinked and suddenly she was flying above the ground. Since she had no idea what happened she wasn't able to stop herself before she started basically bouncing of the ground repeatedly. After she came to a stop she realized that there was an incredible pain coming her cheek. The crime fighter looked over at where she originally stood and couldn't believe her eyes. Gohan was standing there and he looked as if he had just thrown a punch. Was that what had happened to her?

As she struggled to lift herself up Gohan called out to her, "Guess I should have warned you, but to make sure you get the full effects of the training: I'll be coming at you as if I'm trying to kill you."

"Now he tells me," she groaned.

But she couldn't deny how useful that would be. Sure, she had fought criminals that had wanted her dead. Yet, when she fought them they never really seemed driven to kill her. The only time that it had happened was when she had to deal with those mercenaries. Obviously though, after this it would be almost as if she spent her entire life getting killed.

Her body moved before she was even aware of it. While she had been distracted, Gohan had made his move. He stopped just right of her and attempted a kick to her head. On pure instinct she raised her right arm in defense and grasped the arm with her left hand to support it. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. The kick was still strong enough to knock her aside abit. It still didn't stop her from making another move. As her head got closer to the ground she positioned her hands on the ground. Then using them to spin herself she delivered a kick in a propeller blade fashion. However, Gohan easily captured her lead leg in his grasp and lifted her off the ground. Drawing his arm back and then thrusting it forward he delivered a palm attack to her abdomen that sent her flying once again into the dirt.

Videl coughed up a large amount of water from that blow, but she had to consider herself lucky it wasn't blood. She tried to glare at him, but found herself incapable of it at the moment.

"I know you said you'd come at me as if you were trying to kill me," she said coughing slightly, "But don't you think that was a little too much?"

"No, I don't," he told her flatly, "Don't worry, I won't actually kill you. But I will make sure that every time we fight you will experience the fear of death."

His expression carried no emotion, but there was no mistaking the seriousness in his voice. If that was what he wanted, then he succeeded in scaring Videl. However, that did not mean she was going to give up. As soon as he walked into her reach she leapt up to strike his face, but it quickly failed. He tilted his head slightly and then spun around to backhand her away. This time she was ready and so was able to easily rebound off the ground and charge back in.

For hours she tried to attack him, but each time she failed. No matter what kind of attack she threw at him, he would easily counter it and she'd just end up tasting dirt. Now, here she laid on her back trying to catch her breath.

Gohan stood above her and bent over into her sight, "Looks like you managed to survive. Now, we'll take the next two hours to rest up and have a nice lunch."

Not even waiting for her, he walked back inside. Videl struggled to get back to her feet, but she was determined not to seem weak. She had spent years training her endurance and there was no way some stupid training was going to keep her down. With each step she took the pain would course through her body. It felt as if every bone in her body had been broken, but she knew that wasn't true. Still, to have been able to systematically kill her movements like he had done was certainly real. He had said this was the same type of training he went through, but he also said he had been doing martial arts since he was four. That meant he had been fighting like this as a kid.

"Damn, his teacher must have been psychotic," she mumbled to herself.

When she opened the door her sense of smell was assaulted with a magnificent aroma. Her mouth watered as she recognized the scent of a home-cooked meal. Videl made her way to the kitchen to see Gohan cooking at an amazing pace and yet he wasn't missing a single step in his movement.

Despite her idea that he needed to concentrate, he managed to talk to her, "You can just go sit in the living room until I'm done here. It shouldn't take me more than an hour to get everything ready."

Considering she had no idea how to cook, meaning she couldn't really offer to help, she decided to do as he said. She sat on the couch for almost the whole hour, but soon grew bored. Even though they had a TV, she never was one for watching it unless something big was up. Actually, now that she thought about it this was her first time sitting alone in the living room since she arrived yesterday. She looked over at the TV that was affixed to the wall, but her attention was captured by what was on the stand below: Pictures.

Videl walked up to the stand and inspected the pictures. There was one with three people, all with black hair and eyes. There was a tall man with palm tree-like hair and he was wearing an orange gi with a blue undershirt. Next to him was a woman who wore a purple changpao dress and an orange scarf. Her hair was done up in a bun with two strands of hair falling on each side of her face. In the man's arms was a little boy wearing a child's robe that was mostly yellow, but with green sleeves. He also wore a red hat with a strange orange orb on top. But what really caught her attention was the happy look on the boy's face as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Videl smiled at the picture, "I guess even someone like him was innocent once."

She looked at each picture carefully, but noticed that in all of them his carefree smile was disappearing. Each smile was becoming sadder and sadder. She had also noticed that the pictures of the three of them were far and few between each time. The last picture was of a large group. The variety of people was amazing, but she quickly dismissed it as she found the final picture.

It had stood in the middle of them all as if it held more importance than them all. In it was a boy of about fouteen years old wearing a white tangzhuang shirt. His hair was styled to be similar to the man in orange, but still not quite the same. The greatest resemblance of the man was the little boy in his arms. The boy was like a childish version of the man(he is wearing the same gi that he wears in the manga/anime), but he had the same carefree smile that mimicked Gohan's from the earlier picture. Actually, the Gohan in this picture had had a much purer smile than some of the others. Almost as if he had turned back.

"That's a picture of my little brother and I when he turned three," she heard him say.

Videl set the picture down quickly and turned to face him. Gohan was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and leaning against the wall with his shoulder.

She blushed slightly at having been caught, "Your brother, huh? You don't really talk about him much do you?"

Gohan shrugged, "It's not as if you've ever asked. Besides if I'm not going to pry into your life then maybe you shouldn't pry into mine."

Videl hung her head in shame as Gohan turned away from her ready to walk back into the kitchen.

He let out a small sigh, "He was a good kid. Innocent and naive, and that's how it should have been. When he was born I promised that I wouldn't let anything hurt him."

"You sound like a good big brother," she mumbled, "So, what is he like now?"

"I don't have a clue," he confessed, "I haven't spoken to the kid in over three years now."

He walked back into the kitchen without another word. Three years? That didn't make any sense. Gohan just said he had made a promise to protect his younger brother and now he says that he hasn't spoken to him in three years. Now that she thought about it, he didn't bother explaining any of the other pictures at all. Just the one with his little brother. Had something happened between him and his family?

She looked back at the pictures, specifically the ones that showed him as a smiling child. What had happened to make Gohan into the person he was today? Deciding to save her questions for another time she went into the kitchen for a quiet lunch.

(After their meal)

Once again the two of them could be found outside in the wasteland, but now they were sitting with their legs crossed. Gohan kept his eyes shut and his hands were touching at the tips of his fingers, creating an opening. He breathed in and out slowly. At first nothing happened, but it wasn't long before Videl could feel the an electrical sensation coursing through the air. She looked at the opening of his hands and saw small sparks beginning to form and then a small white orb had formed at its center.

Gohan opened his eyes and spoke with all seriousness, "This is what I'll be teaching you in the afternoons."

She leaned in close to get a better look at it and immediately recognized it from the battle with the mercenaries. No, she had seen it before that as well, at the Cell Games. She knew it now, that meant that Gohan must have a connection with those people.

Still her curiosity was peaked, "You used this thing against those mercenaries before, but the color was different. Why, and what is it?"

Gohan smirked slightly at the fact she had noticed the difference in color, "This is ki. It is essentially the life energy that exists in all living things. Heck, even non living things can emit a type of ki."

That didn't make much sense to her, "You say that everyone has this ki thing, but if that were the case why doesn't everyone know about it."

He smiled at her observation, "Despite the fact that everyone has ki, that doesn't mean everyone can utilize it. Only those who dedicate themselves to years of martial arts training are capable of even accessing a small fraction of its power. Once you learn how to control this power you can do a number of things. For example you could increase your physical ability or even fly."

The moment he said fly her attention was truly captivated, but then she became curious again, "I don't get it, my...d-dad has been training for decades, but he still isn't able to do this. Why is that?"

Gohan had noticed her hesitation in using that word, but said nothing, "For one he has closed his mind to such possibilities. The second thing is that even if one trains it is not a guarantee that they will be able to unlock this power. I suppose you could say that one requires a talent or rather an affinity for it."

Okay, she could accept that as an answer, "But what about the color thing. Is that normal?

"Ki can appear in any color," he explained, "When using ki randomly it will often appear as yellow, blue, or even white depending on the wavelength that is used. This is especially true when you're just starting out. However, as your ki increases, your wavelength will become more obvious and then take its own independent color. In my case, my ki will often appears as white anyway. That is unless I'm consciously manipulating the wavelength, then it will appear as the other typical colors."

"Okay," she said with enthusiasm, "So, how do I learn to harness my ki?"

At this Gohan let out a mischievous grin, "First, you'll need to meditate. Then try to feel around to the core of your very being. Try to locate the place where your ki has remained hidden and simply let it out."

Videl's eye began to twitch. She knew immediately that he didn't expect her to understand that explanation. However, she also knew that he was challenging her. He wanted to see what she would do with his advice.

"Alright," she said mimicking his posture from before.

She closed her eyes and let out a small breathe. It took her a while, but she was beginning to relax. That was until she grew impatient from the silence. Videl had hoped he would give her some further guidance, but he hadn't said anything at all. She had opened her eyes and was about to start yelling at him. Problem was, he wasn't there. In fact nothing was there. She was sitting in a dark void where the only light was basically where her shadow should have been.

"Where am I?" she asked herself and then she tried calling out, "Hey Gohan! Where are you?"

(Back to Gohan)

As soon as she started meditating her ki began reacting. When a person's body has been pushed to its absolute limit and then they try harness their ki, they will be pulled into their own mindscape. That was in fact his intention. He beat her brutally so that way when they got to this point she would be forced to face her own inner turmoil. If she can face it and regain her control over herself then it would be no problem for her to use her ki. However, there was a drawback to this strategy...

Gohan, who had carried Videl to her bed, sat next to her and whispered, "If you can't get through this, you'll disappear forever Videl. So please make sure to come back."

Author's Note

Okay, we've got another short chapter, but I must say that was not my intention. Actually, I had wanted to make this chapter longer by including an intro for Dabura, but that didn't happen. I typed that last bit of dialogue right there and it just felt like an ending to me. So, I apologize for not getting to where I said I would, but hey it looks like this story will be even longer than I thought it would. I had thought that I wouldn't get to chapter twenty, but now it is possible I might have between twenty and thirty chapters.

Now, many of you may have been confused by this last part as to what was happening, but I am here to tell you that it will be explained. So, have some patience with me. As to what is going to happen next chapter Videl will have to come to grips with the truth that she has discovered. Not only that, but we will reveal what had happened to Gohan in the last seven years.

Finally, I will tell you the current standpoint of the poll, but I not reveal the titles. Basically, we have eleven votes and they are divided among at least seven stories.

The votes would be viewed as thus:

First place has three votes

Second place is held by two stories with two votes each

Last place is held by four stories with one vote each.

Once again, do not forget to place your vote. Oh, if you have some question about a certain story that you want answered before you vote just shoot me a PM.

Review Responses:

 **Guest1:** I hate your review, I really do. Not because it offended me, but because I'm not sure I can reply to it without giving away too much information. But I will try:

Your point on the hyperbolic time chamber is noted, but just in case you have missed it in an earlier chapter, Gohan has been training for the last seven years and has far surpassed his former power.

Can not say anything about fat buu

Dabura will be able to show off some power, but Shin will still more or less be useless in this story.

 **Guest2:** Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the update speed. Mostly because the chapters kind of decide their own ending. I am merely the person that puts words to paper. I'm being serious here, I'm sure most writers can tell you that eventually a story takes its own shape and course even if you didn't really intend for it to happen.

 **Guest3:** Goku's comeback won't be until after Majin Buu's defeat. So, he'll basically find out the good old fashioned way: seeing him in person.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, but do enjoy the story.

Don't forget to place your votes.

Chapter 13

Videl had no idea where she was, nor did she know how long she had been there. Though it had felt as if she had been wondering around for quite some time. If she had to guess she would say about twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of being stuck in total darkness that for some reason didn't inhibit her ability to see all. Twenty minutes of being alone without anyone to help her find her way out. She thought about what had happened beforehand with her training. Gohan had beaten the tar out of her. They ate and then he had her meditate. Not one bit of that explained why she was stuck in some god-forsaken void.

She had spent the first possibly ten minutes yelling out for help. Though to be more specific she was calling out to Gohan. Of course, that was only because he was the only person that was around when this happened. Or at least that was what she was trying to convince herself.

Videl sighed, "Where the heck did that jerk run off to?"

She continued to walk around, but she never found a way out, but considering she didn't even know how she got there; that wasn't surprising. As she walked her thoughts began to wonder. They began to wonder back to what had happened only two nights ago. The conflict between her "fathers" and how the revelation had shocked her greatly. She was unable to understand why they had lied to her like that.

There were very few people that she trusted in her life. Especially after her mother had passed away and then the Cell Games. Both of these events destroyed her trust in people. The people around her were always after something. They used her as a way to get to her father. Why were people like that? Why did they have to lie? Why was she always the one who had to suffer because of their greed? Why did she have deal with all this pain alone?

Despite her best efforts to hold them back, the tears came. She collapsed to her knees and let everything she had ever kept inside out into the open. She was unaware of it, but soon the darkness had begun to shift. It began to consume her the more she lost herself to her pain. Her body began to slowly fade away.

(With Gohan)

It had been over a day since she had entered the mindscape, though he knew that she had probably not realized that. To her not much time had probably passed at all, but with each second that she remained in that place the more she risked being swallowed up. The darkness, the loneliness of that place makes one think. No matter how much they wish to put something behind them. No matter how much they don't want to face their truths, their pains, their regrets. The mindscape will not allow it. That place will force the thoughts to surface and force all the pain into the open. That normally wouldn't be a problem, but since this particular part of the mindscape was connected to one's ki it had a dangerous effect. Ki may be one's own life energy, but in a sense it was pure power and power tends to consume everything and that included it's user.

Gohan clenched his fist and took a fist full of the sheets. He had been sitting by her side the entire time and not once did he leave. He didn't care how long it took, there was no way that he was going to leave Videl to face this challenge alone. Then he sensed it.

Gohan's eyes widened and he whispered shakily, "No. Damn it!"  
He jumped up from his chair and immediately stood over VIdel. He could feel it, he could see it. Videl's ki was increasing, but it was the way it was increasing that was bad. The jump in power was unstable and that meant that she was falling to her despair. The color in her face was slowly diminishing. In a matter of hours, Videl would be dead.

Gohan reached down ran his hand through her hair and down her cheek, "Don't you dare die on me Videl. I can't lose you too."

Unnoticed by him due to his worry, a faint blue glow appeared from beneath her shirt.

(With Videl)

Videl had started to feel cold as the darkness had begun to take her. She had felt weak and was about to fall completely to the ground until she felt warmth.

"Don't you dare die on me Videl. I can't lose you too." a voice had said.

There was so much fear in the tone, so much pain. It was not something she was used to hearing especially from the owner of that voice.

"Gohan," she said.

She looked around, but she couldn't see him. Then how could she hear him. That was when she noticed it, the blue glow emitting from beneath her shirt. Videl reached down and pulled out the pendant that she had gotten from him. It was glowing brightly and filling her with warmth even in such a cold place as this.

"Well, it's good to see that someone is looking after you," a new voice said.

The voice was feminine and it was a voice that Videl would never forget. No matter how much time passed, no matter how many life times passed. There was only one person that it could be. She turned around to see a full grown woman wearing a white shirt beneath her dark blue windbreaker as well as a pair of blue jeans.. Her black hair was worn down and her light blue eyes shine just as they always did.

"Mom?" Videl said with tears still in her eyes.

The woman smiled sympathetically and kneeled next to the girl then embraced her, "It's me honey. It's me."

She let go and pulled back a bit to examine her daughters face. In actuality the two of them were practically identical. Videl's mother chuckled slightly at how much they looked alike, but her smile still contained some sadness.

"Come on let's get up," she said.

As she tried to stand Videl's smile seemed to return, "I can't believe this. You're actually here. I've missed you so much mom."

Her mother took her face into her hand and wiped away Videl's tears, "I know. I've missed you too. It's hard to believe you've gotten this big."

Videl laughed at this, but then became serious, "Mom, I need to ask you something."

Her mother sighed and hung her head slightly, "I know, you want to ask me about your father."

She was stunned, "How did you know?"

She didn't go into too much detail about it, but apparently her mother had met a woman named Baba in the Otherworld while she was trying to recruit fighters for some challenge. In exchange for participating she asked to know how she was doing. Baba had revealed the inner struggle of her daughter as well as the training.

"Thankfully, she managed to arrange that I show up while you're performing in this stage of your training," She had finished, "That way I could help you."

"Okay, but are you going to actually explain the whole thing with Uncle Belphegor?" Videl asked, but her eyes were practically pleading for answers.

"Yes," she said, "As you heard already thanks to his argument with Hercule; Belphegor is your father by flesh and blood."

Videl's eyes widened, despite hearing it already, hearing it from her mother was still a shock, "I don't understand. I mean the two of you are siblings and what about dad? I just don't get it."

"Step-siblings," she said calmly gaining a confused look from Videl, "Belphegor and I are step-siblings. Before that I was his junior at West City University, then his lover, and finally his fiancee. I know it must be confusing for you to understand why we never told you, but you have to understand that we had our reasons. Or rather Belphegor had his reasons."

"And what were those reasons?" Videl asked

"Because he's too kind," the woman said sadly, "He'd rather see others happy even if it caused him a great deal of pain. So, I ask that you try and give him the chance to explain."

Videl hung her head slightly, "I don't know if I can do that. After all this time, I thought he was one of the people that I could trust, but apparently I can't."

Her mother sighed, "I get it. Your heart is hurting because it doesn't know what to believe. So, I'll show you what your heart has alway known."

Her mother walked passed her, but had grabbed Videl by her wrist. This forced Videl to turn around and suddenly there was something more than darkness. In front of them were several doors. All of them were identical in design, but there were different symbols on each one. He mother guided her to a door with the kanji for music.

"I think this is a good place to begin," her mother told her as she opened it.

Videl walked in and immediately recognized it. One year before she started martial arts she had taken a liking to playing the piano. Right now they were backstage in the auditorium of her elementary school. A boy was playing the piano and a little girl wearing fluffy white dress was standing by the curtains.

"I remember this day greatly," her mother said, "You were so nervous because you wanted to impress your father. You just didn't realize who that father was."

Videl continued to watch as her younger self peeked out to the crowd. Even after all these years she still remembered that scene. The faces of all the parents and siblings that came to watch their family members perform. The face of her own mother as she waved when she noticed the little girl. Not once did she see the afroed figure that she had wanted to appear. She remembered thinking that he didn't care and was nearly brought to tears.

However, when she was on the brink of tears she was embraced from behind by a pair of strong arms. Caught by surprise, the little girl turned around quickly and was greeted by her smiling uncle.

"Uncle Belphie!" The girl exclaimed quietly.

"Hey V, I'm sorry that I was late," he said bashfully, "I got held up by some police business."

The younger Videl shook her head and put a smile on her face, "No, that's okay. I'm glad you could make it."

Belphegor smiled and then looked up as the boy's performance came to an end. The girl had turned around as well and was soon overcome with nervousness. She gulped as she was about to make a step, but was stopped when her uncle turned her towards him.

"Hey," he said, "No matter what happens out there know that your mother and I are proud of you. So, just go out there and have some fun kiddo."

He patted her head and urged her to go forward. The older Videl monitored the scene with a great nostalgia. She remembered that scene so well, but she never understood what she felt after those words. When she stepped out onto that stage, the little girl was no longer thinking about what was missing. For some reason it didn't feel like anything was missing. Her mother was watching from the crowd and her uncle stood behind her. It was all perfect.

"I remember that was what I wanted," the older Videl said, "Yet, the moment Uncle Belphegor showed up I couldn't help, but feel happy. It felt like my wish had been granted. Why did it feel like that?"

"I'm not expecting you to figure out everything in one shot," her mother said giggling slightly, "There are still other memories for you to look at."

"Memories?" Videl asked,

"I guess you haven't realized where we are yet," her mother slightly laughing at the idea, "You're inside the mindscape a place where every dream, every thought, and every memory is stored."

"So what we just saw was one of my memories, huh," she said rather calmly, "I guess such a thing can't really be considered the weirdest thing I've ever heard of."

"That's true, especially considering that boyfriend of yours" her mother said teasingly.

"And what do you mean about that?" she practically yelled, her face having turned red after her mother said boyfriend.

"You'll just have to wait until he's ready to tell you," Her mother kind of answered, "Now how about we check another memory."

This time her mother took her to another doorway that said "Death." The moment Videl saw those words, she didn't have to guess what event she would be watching. When the door opened she saw exactly what had figured: Her mother's wake. They were in the City Hall ballroom where the mayor was giving a speech about her great actions. It was just after the chaos of the Cell Games. While most civilians tried to return to their peaceful live, there were also criminals that were returning to their evil deeds. One of the gangs had taken several people hostage in order to get a huge sum of money from her father, but her mother refused. She said that they couldn't give in to people like that. She went to fight and had managed to beat most of them, but there was one that had remained hidden. So, when she least expected it the man shot her and within minutes she was dead.

And now only a few days later they held the wake for the city's greatest protector. A small ten years old girl sat alone as the adults all talked. At the time she didn't really have any friends so the only people there were adults. Some were old friends of hers and others were members of the police corps. However, the majority of the people were either paparazzi trying to get coverage or a bunch of sluts trying to use the situation to get her dad's money. The wake had gone on for an hour and there was no one who spoke to her. They only spoke to her father, they only cared about what he had to say and he was eating it up.

"Stupid, it's just so stupid," the younger Videl whispered to herself.

If anyone had bothered to look, they would see that this little girl's eyes had become hollow. It was if she had completely shut off all of her emotions at once. Even her face was showing only a neutral expression.

"Excuse me, Ms. Videl, how are you?" a man with a microphone asked her with a cheesy grin on his face.

However, before she could answer, the man was sent flying with a single kick, "She just lost her mother and you dare to ask her that! HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK SHE IS?"

The owner of the voice was angry, but the little girl felt like she was safe. She turned to see her uncle standing beside her. His hair was still kind of messy, but now hung flat instead being a spiky mess. For some reason, his look seemed more natural to her.

"Come on Videl, I'll take you home," he said as he took her hand.

He guided her out of the building. Whenever someone tried to stop him they would immediately back off due to his glare. Once outside, his face became more solemn and much like the little girl it was devoid of any real emotion. He guided the girl to his car, but not once did he try to speak with her. She could tell that it wasn't because there was nothing to say. It was because neither knew what to say. What can anyone say when they have lost someone that was important to them. An apology or condolences? No, after dealing with that all day the words would only feel empty.

"I'm sorry Videl," he said.

The little girl turned towards him. She could see that he was struggling to bring the words out, but she was still not sure she wanted to hear an apology.

"I'm sorry that I'm not strong enough," he said, "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to save her. I'm sorry that you have to suffer through this. If I had been stronger I could have stopped her."

The girl's eyes widened. Her uncle, one of bravest people she knew, was crying. The tears he shed were not just because he had lost someone, but also because he felt he had failed to protect that person.

Videl sniffled, "It's not your fault. Mama just wanted to do the right thing."

Belphegor looked towards her as the emotions she tried to hide were coming to the surface. The tears ran down her face and her face became red. For the first time in a long time, Videl Satan had cried.

"I know that...," she said trying make herself stop, "But why...Why did mama have to die? It's not fair."

Belphegor turned into the driveway of Satan Manor. He smiled slightly when he turned to Videl and pulled her towards him. He ran his hand through her hair as he tried to calm her down.

"I know it's hard," he told her in a whisper, "When we're vulnerable we prefer to keep things inside, but you should know that I'll always be here for you. I'll listen to you no matter the problem."

That was when Videl finally stopped holding back and let the tears flow uninhibited. She knew exactly what had happened. Her uncle had tried to show her that no matter how strong a person was, everyone had to cry when they were in pain. It helped them heal even if only just a little.

"I'll say this for Belphegor," Her mother said as they watched the scene from the door, "He always knew what to say to you."

The woman looked at her daughter and saw the tears running down her cheeks. As much as she wanted to help Videl, it certainly didn't feel right to make her relive these memories.

"Yeah," Videl said with a slight smile, "He always did. Then again, I guess that's how a father should be. I never knew why I felt safe with him. I actually remember how when I was little I called him Papa that one time. It took him forever to convince me otherwise."

Her mother saw now that she wasn't crying from the scene, but from happiness, "I bet it hurt him to have to tell me he wasn't my dad. Yet, even after all these years I feel as that's exactly who he is. He's my dad."

The woman smiled at her daughter and embraced her, "That's right. He's your father and he loves you very much."

Videl relished in the feeling of the hug, but it was when they finally broke off that she noticed something odd. Most of the doors were simple oak doors, but there was one door that was different from the rest. This one looked more like a gate. She stepped near it and noticed that it had the kanji for "Alone" inscribed on it. She touched the door and was suddenly overcome with a coldness that she hadn't felt before.

"What is this?" she asked her mother.

"Interesting," she said, "I'm not sure how, but it would appear that you can access one of your boyfriend's memories."

"One of Gohan's memories?" she asked once again ignoring her mother's claim.

"Yes, but I wouldn't recommend it," her mother stated, "That cold feeling you got earlier means that this is something that he would prefer to keep hidden."

Normally Videl would with her, but she also knew that something was wrong with Gohan. She had seen him act happy even if only a few times. Then as soon as he realized that people had noticed his change in mood he'd start acting like a creep again. It's possible that the reason for that was hiding behind this door.

"That may be mom," Videl said gaining some determination, "But just like you helped me, this may be the only way I can help Gohan."

So, with her new found courage she pushed through the door to find herself being nearly blinded by the bright light.

Author's Note

DAMN IT! Seriously, I wanted to show you guys Gohan's memories, but I had a couple problems. One being that so far today while I was thinking of some other stories I found myself ready to cry about ten times in one day. Eight of those times were within the same hour! The second reason being that when I imagined the scene with the bright light I couldn't help it. It just made me pull that crap that most animes do when things are just about to awesome and suddenly you're waiting another week. Soooooo, CLIFFHANGER!

Also, I do wish to apologize with how late this chapter was, but I have been somewhat distracted with my classes. There is also this problem I have that can be known as ADHD for writers. Unlike most people I can think of too many stories and it makes it hard to focus on one. So, in order to focus I end up having to write a bit of the story to get it out of my system. It also works to keep me from getting too bored when I'm in between chapters.

Now on to the current Poll results. There are currently 17 votes and five of which are on a story that makes me think that you people are heartless. In any case:

First place: 5 votes

2nd place: 3 votes

3rd place: A three way tie with 2 votes each.

The ones that did not place all only have one vote each.

 **Review Responses:** I got a few reviews that were worth commenting on, but the problem is that I don't know how to reply. I still thank you for reviewing, though Alonanorton may want to be careful with my next chapter. Main reason being that it is meant to break everyone's hearts.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I do not own DBZ or any of the other characters, but do enjoy the story.

Also, don't forget to vote. If you've read the previous chapters then you know what I'm talking about.

Chapter 14

A ten year old boy stood in the middle of the trees. Even though the sun was shining down on him, it brought little warmth to the cold mountain air. His spiky black hair danced slightly with the small winter breeze that blew past him. He looked up into the sky wondering if his father was still watching him.

"It's been six months," he whispered to himself.

It had been six months since the day of the Cell Games. Six months since Cell had been defeated. Six months since his father had died. The accounts of the battle replayed in his head all the time. He remembered being so powerful that he could have easily defeated Cell, but he had allowed the power to go to his head. He had seen Cell was defeated, but instead of finishing the fight he had wanted to make him suffer. It was because of that arrogance his father had died. Despite the depressing thoughts that filled his head, Gohan smiled.

"I hope you're doing well up there dad," he said turning to head back to his home.

Gohan had long since come to peace with his mistake, but not because he didn't still blame himself. No, he had to come to terms with it. Soon after the games had ended they had learned that Chichi was pregnant. That meant he had no room to blame himself, he had to be strong for his mother and his new sibling that would be coming soon.

"Mom, I'm back!" he called out once as he entered the small house.

His mother did not respond, but just sat in a rocking chair caressing her swollen abdomen next to the fireplace. Gohan's smile became somewhat sad when he saw her. While she had natural pale skin, she had recently became even paler. Her eyes had dark rims around them and her hair was always a mess. He let out a sigh; just because he had moved on didn't mean that she had. For the first month or so, she had done her best act as if nothing was wrong, but Gohan had noticed the change. He had seen the pain in her eyes and had sensed his sibling's ki. It was obvious she was scared of having the child without her husband around. However, compared to now, she was fine at the time. Now, she was pretty much a shell of her former self.

He let out one last sigh, "Mom, I'm going up to my room to study."

Gohan had decided that since he spent so much time trying to be a fighter for his dad; He should spend some time to be a scholar for his mother. Or at least that's what he wanted to do, but her current condition made it hard for him to keep up that desire. At first he worked diligently, but when it became obvious that she was no longer concerned with his grades he started taking more time to rest. So for now he laid on his bed waiting for sleep to claim him and soon it did.

When Gohan opened his eyes again he was surrounded by not only darkness, but the doors to his memories.

"Guess I won't be getting much sleep after all," he said and then let out a sigh.

When one journeys to the mindscape their body is unable to rest because the activity in the mind causes their ki to continue being active. Thanks to this Gohan has been unable to get any proper sleep in months. No, that wasn't true. The last time he had any proper sleep was back when he was training with Piccolo for the fight against the saiyans. After that battle it became difficult and he soon found himself entering the mindscape a lot. The frequency of these visits increased with each battle, with each person he was forced to watch die. Since the Cell Games, his visit to the mindscape was practically every night and the only time he got any real sleep was when he completely exhausted himself.

"Oh well, may as well take a walk down memory lane," he told himself.

If most people had the chance to look back, they would choose to look at their happier memories with all their friends. Gohan on the other hand spent his time watching his worst memories. Not because he was punishing himself, but because despite how bad things got they were pretty much the only memories he had of all of his friends. Though they were terrible memories, having his friends with him at the time did make him feel slightly better about things. Then he heard a child-like laughter.

Gohan's eyes widened, but then narrowed as he looked around, "Who's there?!"

The laughter continued, but he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. For the most part it sounded like an echo bouncing off the walls of a cave. Gohan was pretty much frantic, the mindscape was an area that only the owner of it could enter. The only exception to this rule was if someone who had great mental powers had tried to infiltrate his mind. Piccolo and Dende were perhaps the only people he knew that could do this, but they never would do so against his will.

Getting frustrated he growled, "You'd better get out here!"

Then from behind one of the doors a familiar-looking boy with a ghostly glow walked out from behind one of the doors. He wore rather traditional style clothing with some of the red sash sticking out from beneath his shirt(It's that formal outfit that Goten wears at the beginning of Dragonball Super).

Gohan's eyes widened once again, "Dad?"

The little boy shakes his head and then runs up to hug Gohan's leg. He had no idea what made him do it, but Gohan kneeled down and embraced the child. There was this strange feeling he got from the child as if he should recognize him.

The child let go of Gohan and poked his nose playfully, "Big brother."

Once again, Gohan's eyes widened as he felt the boy's ki. It was definitely the same one that he could feel growing inside of his mother's womb. Only now something wasn't right. The boy's ki, despite being so close to him, was low even for a newborn. In fact, it was getting weaker almost as if he were...

Gohan's eyes snapped open in the real world, "NO!"

He rushed out of his room and down the stairs to be greeted by the sight of his mother collapsed at the dining table. Gohan quickly ran to her side and checked for a pulse and though he found one, it was weakening. The color of her skin was growing paler and considering she was naturally pale that was saying something. Gohan picked her up from her chair and laid her down across the table. He extended his senses and found that it wouldn't be long before she had truly left this world. Though his younger brother may last longer, it left him with a terrible choice to make.

"Who do I save?" he asked himself.

He could easily send a surge of ki into his mother, but the problem was that there was no way the baby could survive the overload. The only other option made him somewhat sick to his stomach: he would have to cut his own mother open and deliver the baby himself. Gohan had to think, but the problem was he didn't have much time. His mother would be dead in five minutes and his little brother may only live for another three. The images of his mother in their happier days flashed through his mind, but at the same time he knew. He knew that he could never forgive himself if he let this happen...

"I'm sorry mom," he mumbled.

Gohan focused his ki into his hand, but instead of forming a sphere; he had formed a blade of ki along his middle and index finger. He took a deep breath and steeled himself knowing that he could not waver in what he was about to do. Taking his ki blade, Gohan made vertical incision at her abdomen. Gohan clenched his teeth and trembled slightly as he also pierced the abdominal wall and then pulled them apart. His eyes widened in absolute terror at the feeling of his mother's blood on his hands as he did so. He looked over towards her face, but there was no reaction. He guessed that the only good part about this was that she didn't feel any pain.

Once again he took a deep breath and made yet another incision this time slicing the protective membrane that coated his infant sibling. Finally, he reached in and pulled baby away from his, no, their mother's uterus and to end it he sliced away the umbilical cord. The baby was so small and with how weak his ki was as well as how small it was, it was obvious the child was underdeveloped, but that couldn't be helped. Gohan smiled slightly at how much the child looked like their father. He even laughed at how despite being so small and weak, it had such a powerful cry. That smiled soon faltered as he brought the child closer to him. Gohan collapsed to his knees and let out his own tears for the first time in months. His body shook in frustration at what he had just done.

"I'm so sorry mom," he whimpered, "But I promise I will always protect him. Do you hear me Goten. Your big brother isn't going anywhere."

The scene faded into darkness as the two let out their cries. One from a child who has yet to experience the world and the other who knows all too well the pain the world brings.

(Four years later)

Gohan stood outside his house going through the movements that he has practiced for years. Despite all of his movement he always remained near a particular window where his little brother stood watching him. The kid was like a small clone of their father minus his healthy looks. No, Goten didn't look as if he had even an ounce of good health in his whole. There were bags under his eyes. His skin was so pale it was almost a ghostly white. In all reality, the poor kid was probably struggling to remain awake at this time. Hell, Goten could barely remain awake for more than a few hours at a time.

Giving one last kick he turned towards his younger sibling with a calming smile., "Hey Goten, how are you feeling this morning?"

The sickly half-saiyan replied hoarsely, "I feel great!"

Despite his disposition, the boy always made an attempt to be cheerful. Gohan could only imagine what the boy must be feeling. There isn't really anything that he can do without help other than just lying in bed or breathing.

Gohan dried his hair(which is in a similar fashion to the Bojack movie style) with a towel, "So, what do you feel like doing today?"

Goten placed a finger on his chin as if trying to think, but then became excited, "I want us to take a picture together."

That had surprised him. Gohan guessed that his younger brother felt that they should have a family portrait considering he had already seen all the others. He probably felt left out.

He pat his younger siblings head, "Sure, we can do it after I finish with my morning chores. Okay buddy?"

Goten smiled, "OKAY!"

After the show of excitement the small boy began to have a coughing fit. Gohan was instantly by the boy's side and placed a nearby towel up to his mouth. When Goten pulled away from the towel he smiled up at his brother. Gohan's eyes reflected his concern and sadness when he saw the bit of blood that trailed down to Goten's chin. He looked at the towel and saw the blood that his brother had coughed up. It made him tremble slightly.

"Alright Goten, I want you to go lay down for a little bit while I go get some stuff from the garden," Gohan told him.

The little boy nodded and slowly climbed into his bed that was situated next to the window. Watching him struggle just to get back into bed sometimes made it hard for Gohan to remember that Goten was actually half saiyan. He let out a sigh. Over the last four years, he had felt as if the world was playing a game with him. Goten was getting weaker with each passing day and he had recently started coughing up blood a lot. The truth of it all was that he would probably die in a matter of days and there was nothing he could do about it. Wasn't it enough? Wasn't it enough that this damn world had forced him to fight to the death to protect it since he was a child? Wasn't it enough that his friends have died to make sure it still existed? Wasn't it bad enough that he had lost everything just so everyone else could be happy?

Gohan trembled and his teeth clenched in anger as he whispered, "What right does this damn world have to take my brother away from me?"

His ki flared to the point that he was emitting a white flame-like aura. The wind whipped around him in response and the ground itself began to quake almost as if in fear of his power.

"Gohan, calm down," a stoic voice said from behind him, "If you keep releasing your ki like that you may just kill Goten yourself."

Gohan's eyes widened, but then closed as he took a few calming breaths. The aura that surrounded him slowly vanished and with it the wind calmed as did the ground. Gohan allowed the tension in his body to slowly vanish before he turned to face the man he come to know as a second father.

"Good to see you again Piccolo," Gohan said with a smile.

In the last four years, Piccolo always took the time to check in on the two of them. Though to be more exact he wanted to make sure Gohan's mind was still in tact. Still, he had become close with Goten as well. He knew that the boy could have become something great. It was a shame that neither Dende nor the dragon balls could do anything for him. Since Goten's condition was natural, there truly was nothing that could be done. No one could forget how distraught Gohan was when he realized how hopeless it was:

" _WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING!" Gohan demanded, "YOU'RE KAMI AREN'T YOU?!"_

 _Gohan had delivered his brother only a few hours ago. His body was still covered in his mother's blood. His eyes contained an almost feral look as he yelled at Dende. The young guardian stood with a sad expression on his face. Piccolo and Vegeta maintained their stoic expressions, but even they sympathized with the young half-saiyan._

" _I'm sorry Gohan, but Goten's symptoms are natural and therefore," Dende looked away as it pained him to say it, "Both Shenron and I are incapable of healing Goten."_

 _The feral look disappeared and was replaced, but by a look of pure depression. The tears returned to his eyes as Gohan collapsed to his knees._

" _Vegeta, surely Bulma has some kind of device that could help him," Piccolo stated, "Gohan, go get your brother and we'll see if she can help."_

" _Shut up Namek," Vegeta said without emotion, "Don't you think the boy would have already thought of that?"_

 _They both looked at Gohan who simply nodded in response._

 _He then spoke with hopelessness obvious in his voice, "The house was designed to deal with a few modern conveniences such as a stove and tv at most. It wouldn't be able to deal with one of Bulma's machines. Besides Goten can't be moved."_

" _What do you mean he can't be moved?" Piccolo asked._

" _I had constantly feed Goten some of my ki to keep him stable," he said as his tears became worse, "And that was just to walk him upstairs to his crib. He'd die the second he tried to lift off into the air."_

 _Gohan finally stood up and went to the house's entrance, but turned to face the three, "Thank you guys for trying, but I think for now it would be best if the only person Goten has to deal with is me. So, I'll see you around."_

Since then, both Piccolo and Vegeta had their own way of helping Gohan deal with what was happening. He would visit just make sure everything was alright. Vegeta on the other hand chose to give the boy his space. He also made sure not to pass any information to Bulma for fear that he eccentric attitude could upset Goten. Kami knew that if anything happened to that boy, Gohan would be lost.

"Hey, Piccolo do you think you could watch Goten while he sleeps?" Gohan requested, "I need to go get some stuff from the garden and then check the traps around the forest for dinner tonight."

"Sure kid," Piccolo said with a smirk.

As much as the green warrior hated to admit it, he had a soft spot for his former pupil. Besides, it wasn't as if the kid ever asked for much, so doing him a favor every once in awhile did no harm.

Gohan gave his mentor a thankful smile before rushing off to the garden behind the house. Though, admittedly, it wasn't really that much of a garden. It wasn't really big because there was no need for it to be. All they needed were a few basic vegetables to keep Goten healthy and that made everything fine. Besides, Gohan had long since learned how to use his ki to slow down his metabolism that way he wouldn't require any more food than the average person.

As Gohan began picking the vegetables(I am not going to say what he picked. Just use your imagination) he thought back to the old days. The days he spent training and fighting. While, at first he had hated fighting just for the sake of fighting, he knew that if it ever came down to it he would still fight. Not because there was a strong enemy, but because he had people that he needed to protect. Though against his will, the images of his mother and father's deaths flashed through his mind.

Gohan shook his head, "No, no, no. I can't think about that right now."

The young half-saiyan quickly filled his basket and then set out into the forest. As usual, he managed to catch a large number of rabbits. He quickly began cleaning and gutting the furry creatures before setting off for home.

"Yay, Gohan's back!" he heard a sickly voice cheer.

He looked up and saw Goten and Piccolo waiting for him by window from earlier. However, Gohan stared in surprise when he saw what his younger brother was wearing. The sick four year old was wearing an orange fighting gi similar to their father's. The difference being that Goten's blue undershirt was long sleeved rather than short. He then gave an inquisitive look to his former mentor.

"The kid said he wanted something special to wear for your picture," Piccolo explained, "And I thought this suited him far more than that formal gear he was wearing."

Gohan smiled at his younger brother, "It looks good on you bro. Now, Let me go get changed and then we can have Uncle Piccolo take our picture."

They both laughed when Piccolo scoffed at being branded as an uncle. Still, Gohan knew that he actually enjoyed being there for them. As he said, he went inside, but unlike his brother he chose to wear a more formal outfit. Specifically his white tangzhuang shirt and blue pants(The outfit he wore after the battle with cell ended). After getting dressed he went outside with a stool on hand and placed it a good ten feet from their house.

He reached out for Goten who was currently being held by Piccolo, "Come here little guy."

Goten nodded and was then pulled into his brother's arms. He looked up at Gohan's face and smiled. In turn bringing a smile to his face. Gohan was beyond happy right now. This would be their first picture together and the fact that Goten was showing far more energy today than he ever had before. The two then turned to face the big green man behind the camera.

Just as he was about to press the button, "Uncle Piccolo! You've got to tell us to say 'cheese' first!"

Piccolo looked over the camera and saw the tiny Goku look-a-like pouting, "It doesn't matter kid."

"Now, now Piccolo," Gohan said now holding Goten up a bit higher, "Can you really say no to this face?"

Piccolo sweatdropped as his brow twitched at Goten's dreaded puppy-dog eyes. Unfortunately, even the ever stoic Namekian had yet to find a way to defeat it.

"Fine," he growled while trying to suppress the purple tint appearing on his cheek, "Say...Che...che..ee..se..."

"CHEESE!" Goten cheered louder than he ever had before causing Gohan to smile.

Though he was also trying to suppress his laughter at his former mentor for falling for Goten's signature technique. Piccolo pressed the button on the camera and a flash soon followed. From beneath the camera lens a small picture was dispensed.

"Alright, now all we have to do is wait for the picture to develop," Gohan explained, "Then we'll put up in a frame."

The little boy nodded and then let out a big yawn. Looking at the sky Gohan could see that night would soon fall in a few hours.

"Well, I guess I better get dinner started," Gohan told his younger brother, then turning to Piccolo, "Thank you for all the help."

"No problem kid," Piccolo said with a sad look in his eyes, "Just...don't lose yourself."

Before Gohan could even ask what he meant, the green fighter flew off into the distance. The young half-saiyan was now confused as to what would make his oldest friend act like this. Of course, rather than think about it, he shrugged and left Goten on a couch in the living room. He made his way to the kitchen and began to prepare their meal, which usually ended up being a stew considering it was really the only thing his younger brother could actually stomach. Normally, the process wouldn't take long, but tonight Gohan had ended up taking his time and night had fallen by the time he had actually finished.

Goten, who was obviously struggling to walk, came into the kitchen, "Gohan can you tell me a story about when you were growing up?"

Gohan blinked, "Goten we usually wait until bedtime to start telling stories. Are you that tired?"

Goten nodded while rubbing his dark-rimmed eyes, "Okay, but that means you have to promise to eat an extra big breakfast tomorrow."

Again Goten nodded, but instead of waiting for his older brother he walked to his bedroom himself. Gohan smiled seeing his brother actually capable of moving around on his own. Perhaps there was hope. Maybe his saiyan DNA would allow him to eventually recover. This brought an even bigger smile to his face.

"Alright, I wonder which story he want to hear tonight," he said about to follow his brother, but then noticed the picture. It still hadn't fully developed for some odd reason, so he reached for it to see if there was something wrong with it. Then, oddly, with just barely a touch it flew away and when it did land it was someplace that Gohan would always remember. It was the spot where he held Goten for the first time and swore to protect him.

Gohan rubbed his head in a familiar fashion, "Man, today is just so odd."

He picked up the picture and placed it on the dining table. Then he ran to meet up with his four year old brother. The boy was still standing next to the bed and gave a big smile to his brother to show that he waiting on him.

Gohan settled himself into the bed and then picked the boy up and placed him into his lap, "So, what story do we want to hear tonight?"

Goten looked thoughtful for a moment, "Hmmm, I want... the time you were training with Piccolo to fight the bad saiyans."

Gohan nodded and began to recite the story. Goten always loved this one because his brother hadn't been that much older than he was and yet he had become a powerful fighter. Though despite his love for the story his eyes had become heavier and soon he would drift into sleep.

Almost as if it were with the last of his strength; he said quietly, "I love you, Gohan."

Gohan smiled as he allowed himself to drift to sleep, "I love you too, Goten."

As Gohan allowed sleep to take him, a single tear drifted down his cheek in acknowledgement. The young half-saiyan knew that his happy days had come to an end. When he awakens in the morning, despite the company of a body, he would be alone.

His father...

His mother...

Now, his little brother...

Were all dead.

She couldn't stop them. Her tears were pouring out of her like a river. Sure Gohan was a creep, but no one deserved a life like this. She turned when she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder.

"You wanted to know why he was so cold," her mother stated, but her head was hung in sadness, "It's because he isn't ready to forget. Until he is ready, he won't be able to accept love. Even if he knows it's there and even if he acts on it. His fear will stop him."

Videl looked at her mother as if waiting for some kind of answer to this solution, "My daughter, if you wish to save him, then you must break his shell. You must make understand he can still love without fear."

The woman pulled her close into a hug and ran her hand through her daughter's hair. Both were happy to see each other again, but now they knew it was time to separate again.

"Goodbye mom," Videl said with tears still running from her eyes.

"Goodbye, Videl," her mother told her before fading into pitch black darkness.

Videl let out a sigh and turned around, but instead of doors or absolute darkness there was a light. One step was all she needed and was on her way into the light and disappearing from the mindscape.

(In the real world)

Videl opened her eyes to find she was staring up at the neutral expression of Gohan. Yet for some reason she could feel that he had actually been worried about her and it made her happy.

"It's about time you woke up," he said smugly.

Videl sat up so that she was looking into his eyes and then wrapped her arms around his neck, "You can't get rid of me that easily."

Gohan's eyes widened when he felt her lips touch his, but then they closed as he relished in its feeling. He didn't even fight it when he felt her tongue invade his mouth, but that didn't mean he left her in control. He kissed back with just as much passion before pushing her back down onto the mattress. The kiss lasted for a few minutes and when they separated, the look of lust was obvious in both of their eyes. Unfortunately, their bodies had other plans as they collapsed from exhaustion.

 **Author's Note**

 **HALLELUJAH! AND GOD DAMN IT!** I mean seriously I have been struggling with this chapter for the last three weeks and yet, it only amounts to about 14 pages. What's even worse is that I don't even know if the chapter is any good or not. Personally, I think that this is own of my worst chapters, but hey that's up to you guys. Though what really gets me is that I feel that I either over extended the scene with Goten or I rushed it.

Now before I forget, The update time for A Fallen Hero has changed from saturday nights to either a Tuesday night or a Wednesday morning. Secondly, next week will be a double update, which means two new chapters.

 **Poll results** : First place-8 votes

Second place-6 votes

third place-a three way tie with whatever number that is 11% of 28

Personally, this is getting ridiculous. There are 199 people following this story and those are the people I am asking to vote, so please do. Though at this point I may just stop when the votes reach about fifty.

 **Review responses** :

Normally, I would do one, but unfortunately I responded to most of you in my apology over a month ago.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I do not own this story or any of the characters. All credit is given and belongs to Akira Toriyama, but I still hope you enjoy the story.

 **Chapter 15**

It had been a little over a month since Videl's excursion into her mind and Gohan's memories. Ever since then, Gohan had limited most of their interaction to when he was teaching her. She actually snorted at the idea that this could be called teaching; it was more like beating her into a pulp. Don't get her wrong, he still took the time to help and guide her, but by then she was too sore and frustrated to actually listen. Though according to him, it was a good thing. It was apparently meant to teach her to pay attention even when under stress. Personally, Videl thought he got off on it.

Still, there was no doubt that the training was effective and the sparring sessions certainly pushed her. Not only that, but she was always filled with anticipation to see how far she could go with each passing day. Like today for instance.

The two of them stood out in the wasteland caught in a stare down. Videl had taken a stance that would allow her to maximize her speed, while Gohan stood nonchalantly. It seemed like hours that they stood like that. Then the sands seemed to be shifting and the air slowly grew tense. A strange pressure began to build and soon it felt as if the ground was beginning to shift.

Videl observed her opponent with practiced ease, but even she realized that it was a useless endeavor. To a martial artist's eye it would seem as if Gohan had left himself completely open to attack. The old her would have immediately struck thinking that it would be an easy victory. However, their training had taught her to use all her senses, not just her eyes, and now she knew the truth. Gohan was never unguarded, he was always ready for an attack and therefore, always ready to react. It was scary to think about what had led to him becoming this paranoid. Though she had seen a small piece there was still so much that…

She was quickly knocked back to reality as she flinched from the pressure of their conflicting kis. The goal of this was to intimidate your opponent into fleeing or forcing them to attack first. Both of which simply proved whom the weaker fighter was. Videl knew that her ki couldn't do anything to him, but the point was to make her more resistant to stronger opponents. Yet, she still refused to be the first to crack. Gohan smirked as if he had read her mind and was amused by her stubbornness.

"Ohhhhh, fuck this!" she yelled as she focused her ki into her legs and feet.

Videl rushed forward causing the ground beneath her to break apart from the force. She stopped just short of him and aimed a punch to his jaw. She then quickly phased out of sight to and reappeared behind him; this time attempting to land a mid-air roundhouse to the back of his head. However, just before the kick could land, Gohan fell forward and used his ki to hover just above the ground. As he fell, he launched a mule kick to Videl's stomach sending her flying into the sky.

Though she managed to stop her ascension, she had to pause for moment to catch the breath that had just been kicked out of her. Once recovered Videl rushed at him again, this time she flew in low to take out his feet. Gohan jumped above her, but did not immediately retaliate. After having to twist in mid-air to break her flight, she was surprised by a backhanded blow to the face. The force of the hit sent her rolling across the dirt.

"Not bad," Gohan called out, "At least you know how to take a hit now."

Videl growled, "Let's see how you take it!"

Her body was consumed in her blue flame-like aura before she flew upward. Her arms held out to her sides and her palms facing forward she began to focus her ki. Her hands soon became in a pink aura that surged like lightning.

"TAKE THIS!" she yelled.

Videl brought her hands together causing the two forms of ki to collide and explode. Upon exploding, a shower of ki formed spears descended towards Gohan. Yet, he did not panic as he extended his right hand to his side. A small blue sphere formed, glowing intensely, and he threw it. However, it did not remain as a single blast and instead shattered to become dozens. Each one collided against the ki spears and a cloud of explosions formed across the sky.

Seeing her attack had failed, a depressed Videl lowered herself to the ground.

"I was sure that attack would work!" she gave a whispered growl.

He still heard her, "You're delusional if you thought an attack that slow was going to hit me."

"What do you mean slow?!" Videl yelled.

Gohan gave a deadpanned expression, "I mean that you blasts were so slow that I could have dodged them when I was a kid."

Videl's face burned red with both embarrassment and frustration.

Gohan knew that anyone who knew him back then would think that it wasn't a fair comparison given how strong he was back then. Then add in his current strength and he could imagine most saying, "Of course it looks slow to you!" The problem was that Videl was easily as strong as he was when he fought against the Ginyu Force, yet her ki blasts moved so slow he could have dodged them BEFORE he started training with Piccolo. The even sadder part is that they have remained that speed since their training began.

"Then teach me how to make them faster!" she demanded.

Gohan let out a tortured sigh, "I can't."

Videl glared at him suspiciously, "Can't or won't?"

"Can't," he replied calmly, "Ki is heavily attuned to the strength and ability of the fighter, and as a result its speed and force are reflective of your capability. In Laymen's term, the stronger you become the faster and more powerful they get."

"Then why are mine so slow?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I couldn't tell you," he answered begrudgingly, "This might have to be something that we have to experiment on, but only after your break."

"Yeah, sure," she dismissed until his words finally hit her, "Wait…WHAT?!"

 **Author's note:** Really? REALLY? MORE THAN A YEAR ON BREAK FROM THIS AND THIS WAS THE BEST I COULD COME UP WITH! *sigh*

Alright, what's up everyone, I know that it has been some time since my last update. Not counting that announcement a few months ago. I do apologize for not being able to keep that promise, but I'll be honest here. I tried working on the chapter, but they kept ending up like this piece of garbage until I gave up again. I prefer to have at least seven pages of story, but at the same time the only thing that I could think of for this chapter was a fight scene. And while I'm sure that no one would really complain about one, I did not want to waste my use of a long epic fight on a training bout.

Just to point out, I am aware I could have extended this by adding in what is going to be next chapter, but it doesn't feel right. I don't know why, but I feel as if this chapter would ruin what I'm going for in the next one. I could be wrong though.

Moving on, I'm sure some of you have realized that this same story is being posted by Fox's-Library. The reason for that is that it is my new account and I'm currently moving this story to it. So, if you wish to continue following this story, then go check it out there (I will probably to two more updates on this account before I shut it down.) You can also find it under the same name for wattpad and on my patron page.


	16. Q&A

Hey everybody,

First off, this is not an update. I know that most of you are probably wondering if I am pulling another hiatus, but no I am not.

I have actually been thinking about ways that I can interact with my readers more and keep them informed of anything that is going on. The first thing I decided was a monthly Q&A session where I will read and try to answer as many questions as possible. I will take questions that are PMed to me or you can tweet them to kitsunenoko21. In fact I recommend that many of you go and follow if you would like to stay informed of what I am working on. You can even blow up my phone to encourage me to get back to work. Now, back to the Q&A, I will be doing a YT video and will post it on the 2nd of the month.

Expect updates to both A Fallen Hero and Padraig Parkingson on November 3rd. (I will tweet if there are any changes to this plan)

Don't forget that I am moving this story to Fox's-Library, so if you want to continue to follow it, then head there.

I have no rules about the questions, they can be about the story or even something unrelated. Just be aware that not all questions will be selected to be answered in the video. For those that aren't I will provide a written response on .

Which reminds me, if you would like to remain aware of all projects, then please head to (slash) foxslibrary and become a patron.


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I do not own this story or any of the characters. All credit goes to Akira Toriyama.

Chapter 16

Videl could only let out a long suffering sigh as she stood waiting for Erasa. When Gohan had said that she would be taking a break, she had tried to argue with him that she still needed to train. Her argument was met with indifference.

" _Training is important, but you also need to know when to rest,_ " was his only statement.

On the first day, she had decided she would train without him, but it turned out that wasn't the best idea. The second Gohan knew what she was doing he poked her in a few places and suddenly she couldn't use her Ki anymore. In the end she agreed to actually rest if he restored her Ki and thankfully he agreed. However, she eventually got bored sitting around the house with nothing to do.

Thus, she called Erasa (who would most likely call Sharpner) and asked if she wanted to hang out today. Which is what brings her to one of her least liked locations: Satan City Mall.

"Hey V!" Erasa's voice called out.

Videl turned her attention to see her two friends making their way over to her and smiled, "Hey guys, good to see you again."

"Of course it is," Erasa said happily, "But geez girl, we barely recognized you with your hair down."

Videl blinked as she grabbed some of her long black hair. It had grown a bit in the last month, and since one of her hair bands broke, she had decided to leave it as is. The only time she did anything with it was when she and Gohan sparred. Even then it was only to put it in a braid.

"Is it really that big a difference?" she asked.

Sharpner stepped in, "Not really, it's just that we're so used to your pig-tails that it surprised us."

Videl shrugged, she could understand that. They stood there chatting for a few minutes about some of the things going on in the city. She had to admit that she was surprised that the police seemed to be doing a much better job lately.

"I think it's mostly because their scared of your uncle," Erasa giggled, "He's been freaking out since you vanished."

Videl suddenly froze and looked at them both, "You didn't tell him that you were meeting me, did you?"

Sharpner snorted, "And risk you never contacting us again? No way, your little visit is between the three of us."

She let out a sigh of relief and smiled towards her two long term friends.

"Now, enough about that," Erasa said, "Are you going to tell us what you've been doing for the last month?"

"I've been training for the tournament."

Technically, she wasn't lying. It was true that she intended to use the skills that Gohan taught her in the next tournament. She was just avoiding the part that Gohan was the one she was training with. It had been a month since he was expelled and she hadn't really had time to explain to Erasa what happened before she was called for to deal with a hostage situation. Yeah, it was probably better to not let them know that she was training, let alone living with Gohan.

"Really?" her girl friend asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Of course!" Videl exclaimed, "The tournament is in a few months, I can't afford to not train."

She said the last part laced with some bitterness as she thought about how Gohan had basically forbid her from training for the next week. When she looked up she noticed that the two of them had started shifting nervously.

Videl sighed, "What's wrong?"

Sharpned chuckled nervously, "Actually, I've heard that there are plans to postpone, if not cancel, this year's tournament."

Her jaw dropped. I mean, it practically touched the ground at this piece of news.

"What do you mean they're going to cancel the tournament?!" she asked in a hushed yell.

"Well, it's nothing definite," Sharpner continued to explained, "But, do you remember some of the news running around the Martial Arts Society."

Videl nodded. Back before she left there were reports of prominent fighters being attacked and left in near catatonic states. Back then the number of attacks was small and if she recalled the number correctly it was only five.

"After you vanished someone broke into the tournament headquarters and stole the files of the best fighter from the last twenty years."

Now she was really confused, sure that was bad, but not enough for the tournament committee to call for a cancelation.

"Then the attacks started getting worse," he said solemnly, "Over eighty fighters have been attacked in the last month alone and thirteen of them are dead."

Her eyes widened, "You have got to be kidding me. Please tell me that you're joking."

Both her friends could only shake their heads.

Videl let out her second suffering sigh of the day. She couldn't believe that things had gotten that bad. She had been somewhat interested in the case, but unfortunately there was nothing that she could do. Her title as a crime fighter was exactly as it said; she fought the criminals, but it was the police who did the tracking. Until they found out who was responsible for the attacks, she could only sit back as they continued to happen.

Erasa and Sharpner could only look on in sympathy as their long-time friend gave a silent tear in frustration. They knew how much it hurt her to know that she couldn't help; that she couldn't do something.

"Hey guys," Erasa broke in with a fake smile, "Enough doom and gloom. This is the first time we've been together in a month; we should try and enjoy it. 'Kay?"

"The female fighter smiled lightly, "Yeah that sounds great."

From there they spent most of their time going around the mall trying out different activities to suit each of their tastes. It was almost evening when the three of them walked out of the arcade laughing.

"I can't believe you broke the punching machine," Erasa giggled.

Videl blushed slightly, "I didn't mean to. I was just thinking about something frustrating and then punched. I guess he pisses me off more than I thought."

"Oh? And who is **he**?" Erasa asked suggestively.

Sharpner looked as if he was just barely holding in a laugh.

"No one," she replied.

"Come on V," the blonde girl whined, "Did you meet someone during training? Is he cute?"

She smiled sadly, "I guess you could say that. Look, I really had fun, but I need to get going."

They both looked at her with worry, but consented to leave her alone for now. For that she was thankful. Don't get her wrong, she loved her friends, but she knew that she couldn't really talk to them about this. Sure, she liked the training that she was getting from Gohan, but they really need to talk. She wanted to tell him that she knew about what happened to his family. She wanted to ask him how she could have seen it in the first place. More than that though, she wanted to talk to him about…well, Them. As she focused on the many things that had gained her attention she walked into an old alley.

" _But first…_ " she thought before calling out, "Whoever you are, you can come on out. You really suck at hiding."

She watched as a figure stepped into the alley with her. His skin was pale, but oddly grayish. His body was heavily muscled to the point that it looked like he should have trouble moving; either because of his skin tight leotard or because of the bulking muscles, she couldn't decide. His eyes and twisted grin made him look maniacal and then there was that big M that was tattooed to his forehead.

Videl's eyes narrowed trying to figure out who this guy was and then they opened wide in shock once she did.

"Spopovitch?" she asked unsure.

Not that anyone could blame her. The last time anyone had seen the guy was in the last tournament. Back then he was about half his current size and still had a mullet. She didn't have much time to think on it as she dodged an attack from above her. Apparently, the second person she felt following her after leaving the mall had decided to show his self. Her eyes narrowed once again as she took in the surprised form a much scrawnier version of Spopovitch. Then she saw that he was carrying some kind of…genie lamp (It was the first comparison that popped into my head)? She would have laughed at the sight had she not seen the tip of the nozzle pierce through solid concrete.

"I can't believe you missed Yamu," Spopovitch laughed mockingly.

The one known as Yamu quickly moved to beside the hulking man, glaring at him all the while.

"She's much more aware than the others," Yamu commented as if he were talking about the weather, "And faster too."

Videl tensed and growled, "Others… What the hell do you mean by that?"

Yamu smiled darkly, "That doesn't really concern you. After all, you'll be just like them very soon."

Spopovitch and Yamu rushed at her with surprising speed, but that didn't mean they could keep up with her. Videl immediately leapt into the air hoping to avoid a fight. However, it wasn't meant to be as the two of them tried to pursue her. Rather than try to dodge, she met them head on punching Yamu back towards the ground then striking the larger man with a roundhouse. It was only as they were sent away that her eyes widened.

" _If they fall from this height they'll die!_ " she though frantically only to be left absolutely shocked.

Within seconds of being knocked aside by her attacks, her two adversaries corrected themselves in mid-air. She probably shouldn't have been surprised considering they could follow her jump. Still, considering the strength of their ki, she would never have thought them capable of flight. Then again they could easily be masking their power.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you Daughter of Satan?" Spopovitch mocked.

Videl growled. She was itching to attack this bastard, but she knew that she couldn't. There was no telling how strong he and his partner were; with that being the case she didn't want any bystanders getting caught in the crossfire. As much as she hated the idea of it, she would have to retreat and hope they would follow.

She smirked as her blue flame-like aura surrounded her, "Catch me if you can!"

Then she raced away and luckily with the two of them chasing after her.

"I really hope I can do this," she muttered to herself and then winced, "Otherwise, Gohan will kill me."

 **Author's Note: First, let me apologize for being late on the chapter, but again I am still trying to get back into the swing of things. Thus it has been somewhat difficult for me to just sit down and write. In any case, writing this chapter was a complete and total pain in the ass. I would try and write, but then keep hitting points where I felt that I could stop writing. Then I was like, "No, I need to keep going." I wanted to include the fight between Videl and Spopovitch in this chapter, but in the end it was just too much of a hassle. Speaking of which the next chapter of A Fallen Hero will probably be released sometime next week.**

 **Next order of business, this last month I decided I wanted to interact with my readers a bit more and this led to me developing a monthly Q &A session. Now there are three places that you can post these questions. 1.) Here by leaving a review 2.) You can leave it under the public Q&A post on my patron page 3.) You can leave a reply under my Q&A announcement on twitter kitsunenoko21. The due date for any questions is November 28** **th** **. After that I will be looking through them to see which ones will be feature in my YT video.**

 **Finally, if you would like to become a patron then you can find the link on my twitter page. Now, if you would like to know what it means to be a patron then I will be posting a video this Wednesday, so you can check it out then.**

 **Damn, I almost forgot! If you are reading this on the airow17 account, then just know that the story is only getting one more update after this. I would recommend that you guys head over to Foxs-Library if you wish to continue reading this story.**

 **If you wish to remain aware of all due dates, inconveniences, delays, and etc. then don't forget to follow me kitsunenoko21. I will catch you guys next time.**


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